July 2011 issue - The New York City Jazz Record

Transcription

July 2011 | No. 111
Your FREE Guide to the NYC Jazz Scene
nycjazzrecord.com
Benny
Carter
Souvenir of Benny
Freddy Cole • Zeena Parkins • psi Records • Event Calendar
4
6
7
9
10
New York@Night
Interview: Freddy Cole
by Andrew Vélez
Artist Feature: Zeena Parkins
by Kurt Gottschalk
On The Cover: Benny Carter
by Alex Henderson
Encore: Juini Booth
by Sean O’Connell
11
12
by Donald Elfman
MegaphoneVOXNews
by Ken Vandermark
by Suzanne Lorge
Label Spotlight:
psi Records
Listen Up!:
by Stuart Broomer
13
14
36
41
43
Lest We Forget:
John Jenkins
Matt Mitchell
& Ben Stapp
Festival Report: FIMAV • Vision • Moers
CD Reviews: Russ Lossing, Django Reinhardt, Gerald Clayton,
Thomas Heberer, Ari Hoenig, Louis Hayes, Ken Vandermark and more
Is it getting hot around here? The usual East Coast jump from chilly post-winter
to scorching full summer (otherwise known as spring - guess it really can hang
you up the most) has occurred, buoyed by last month’s slew of festivals. A nice
perk to summer in the city is how jazz gets to come out of the basements and dark
rooms and get some sun, not to mention larger-than-usual crowds. There are
shows in various parks and the city’s open spaces this month; check our Event
Calendar for places to tan while soaking up some jazz.
But jazz is still an indoor, night-time music. Our Coverage this month will
take you all around the city. The late Benny Carter (On The Cover) was a legendary
musician and composer and will be fêted at the annual Jazz in July celebration at
92nd Street Y. We have canvassed a number of his colleagues for remembrances of
this giant. Vocalist/pianist Freddy Cole (Interview) is long out of the shadow of
his brother, releasing albums regularly and appearing to great acclaim all over the
world, including Jazz Standard this month. Zeena Parkins (Artist Profile) is part of
a ‘long’ line of harp improvisers and works in all number of creative environments;
this month she is at Blue Note and The Stone with different groups.
In between using this gazette as a sunhat or a fan or a decoration to that spiffy
sand castle, take a gander at the rest of our features: an Encore on bassist Juini
Booth, Lest We Forget on John Jenkins, Megaphone by Ken Vandermark and Label
Profile on saxist Evan Parker ’s psi Records. We also continue the season of Festival
Reports with missives from Canada (FIMAV), Germany (Moers) and right here
(Vision). And at this point, we surely don’t need to remind you about the CD
Reviews and packed Event Calendar, indoors and out.
Summer in the city is about a lot more than gritty necks. It’s about seeing jazz
in shorts, skirts, tanktops, sundresses, flipflops, the temperature of the city rising
to equal the heat of the music. Yowza, where’s the iced tea?
We’ll see you out there...
Laurence Donohue-Greene, Managing Editor
Andrey Henkin, Editorial Director
On the cover: Benny Carter (Photograph © 1994 Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos.)
Event Calendar
Club Directory
Miscellany: In Memoriam • Birthdays • On This Day
In Correction: In last month’s Cover story on Dee Dee Bridgewater, the recording
year for her album Red Earth was missing in the Recommended Listening; it was
recorded in 2006. In the Artist Profile, David S. Ware was mistakenly said to have
had liver failure and an eventual transplant; it was actually his kidneys.
Submit Letters to the Editor by emailing [email protected]
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The New York City Jazz Record
www.nycjazzrecord.com
Managing Editor: Laurence Donohue-Greene
Editorial Director & Production: Andrey Henkin
Staff Writers
David R. Adler, Clifford Allen, Fred Bouchard, Stuart Broomer, Thomas Conrad,
Ken Dryden, Donald Elfman, Sean Fitzell, Graham Flanagan, Kurt Gottschalk,
Tom Greenland, Laurel Gross, Alex Henderson, Marcia Hillman, Terrell Holmes,
Robert Iannapollo, Francis Lo Kee, Martin Longley, Suzanne Lorge,
Wilbur MacKenzie, Gordon Marshall, Marc Medwin, Russ Musto, Joel Roberts,
John Sharpe, Elliott Simon, Jeff Stockton, Celeste Sunderland, Andrew Vélez, Ken Waxman
Contributing Writers
Duck Baker, Mike Chamberlain, Anders Griffen, George Kanzler,
Matthew Miller, Sean O’Connell, Francie Scanlon, Ken Vandermark
Contributing Photographers
Lena Adasheva, Jim Anness, Salvatore Corso, Scott Friedlander,
Peter Gannushkin, Martin Morissette, Alan Nahigian, Susan O’Connor
To Contact:
The New York City Jazz Record
116 Pinehurst Avenue, Ste. J41
New York, NY 10033
United States
Laurence Donohue-Greene: [email protected]
Andrey Henkin: [email protected]
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Advertising: [email protected]
Editorial: [email protected]
Calendar: [email protected]
All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. All material copyrights property of the authors.
THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | July 2011
3
N EW YOR K @ N I G HT
The summer edition of the Festival of New Trumpet
Music (FONT) was stripped down to a mere three
nights, but opened fittingly enough with a memorial
concert for trumpet innovator Bill Dixon. The concert
- held Jun. 3rd, just 13 days before the first anniversary
of his passing, at the Rubin Museum of Art in Chelsea
- featured a sextet of musicians who had worked with
the master, appropriately including a quartet of
trumpeters. It was the brass (Taylor Ho Bynum, Stanton
Davis, Stephen Haynes and Wadada Leo Smith) that
opened the show with a quartet improv before the full
band played Bynum’s “That Which Only You Could
Do”, named for a Dixon instruction for improvising.
Davis introduced his gentle bop piece “Play Sleep”,
which he played with the rhythm section (bassist
William Parker and drummer Warren Smith), followed
by Bynum’s “Woods”. It was a casually friendly
evening, remembering not just Dixon but time spent in
each other ’s bands or playing with George Russell and
others. What might have seemed odd about the setlist
was actually quite astute: it wasn’t until the final piece
that they played a Dixon composition and then
interpolated within an arrangement by Haynes. For an
artist who preached individuality, it only made sense.
“When an artist like Bill dies, what do we do?” Haynes
asked the audience, by way of answering the implied
question. “Do we play the pieces? Are there pieces to
play?” The response was implicit in the music.
- Kurt Gottschalk
Warren Wolf @ Jazz Standard
Bynum, Smith, Davis and Haynes @ Rubin Museum
Miles Okazaki’s first two recordings, Mirror
(2005) and Generations (2009), the leader ’s guitar wasn’t
the main focus. Rather, it was part of a larger ensemble
fabric woven by three saxophones, bass and drums,
even vocals on the latter disc. Premiering a third
volume of original music, Figurations, at The Jazz
Gallery (Jun, 4th), Okazaki went a different route,
scaling back to a quartet with Miguel Zenón (alto sax),
Thomas Morgan (bass) and Dan Weiss (drums). Here
the guitar was well out in front as a solo voice and
Okazaki’s tumbling, accelerating, pointedly unstable
phrases seemed to connect with Weiss’ drumming on a
molecular level (a function of their work together on
Weiss’ Jhaptal Drumset Solo and other projects). Even at
its most austere and highly technical, the music bore
traces of blues, soul, funk and swing - “Dozens”, the
finale, was based on “I Got Rhythm” changes. But
Okazaki drew on more obscure systems of information
as well. Included in the printed program were his
original drawings, mysteriously representing five of
the
six
featured
compositions,
“Mandala”,
“Tesselation”,
“Dozens”,
“Hive
Mind”
and
“Circulation”. Bold reds and blues in complex
labyrinthine patterns, against a background of jet
black: Okazaki’s visual aesthetic certainly opened the
door to a music that could seem baffling and
rhythmically overstuffed at points. Visit the “Theory”
section of milesokazaki.com to see how deep his
imagination goes. (DA)
There isn’t a sound on Earth that could be mistaken
for Peter Brötzmann’s saxophone. Too metallic for an
elephant, too organic for a foghorn, it is the sonic
equivalent of a comet: you can’t actually hear it, just
the burn in its wake. Such was the insistent opening of
an inventive quartet made, as fours are, from a pair of
twos. Opening his Lifetime Achievement night at the
Vision Festival Jun. 8th, stage left was Brötzmann and
Eric Revis, stage right another horn/bass duo, Joe
McPhee and William Parker. The fact that there is an
extraordinary amount of power in his playing goes so
completely without saying that that’s all anyone ever
says. Such that when he began his duo with Jason
Adasiewicz (the second set of the night) the
vibraphonist banged along with his sticks held
horizontally, striking the metal keys longways. The
drummerless quartet and melody-percussion duo
displayed his tunefulness. Of course, saying it doesn’t
make it so and the evening ended with a full-on quintet
fronted by three horns (Brötzmann, Ken Vandermark
and Mars Williams) held steady by the rhythm section
(Kent Kessler and Paal Nilssen-Love). Brötzmann
ensured a musical structure to the maelstrom, much
like his beloved Albert Ayler. He might not have had
the full band play the themes as Ayler did and he may
or may not have conceived of the themes in advance
but he played them, repeated them and parsed them.
Busily, methodically, he wrapped a tent around a
thunderstorm. (KG)
Photo by Jim Anness
Photo: Lena Adasheva
There is something immediately gripping about the
speed, grace and unerring touch of Warren Wolf at the
vibraphone. Clearly this isn’t lost on Bobby Watson,
Christian McBride, Jeremy Pelt, Willie Jones III and
others who’ve hired the young Baltimore native and
new Mack Avenue Records signee. That Wolf also plays
piano and drums on a high level - as documented on
his recent self-release Warren “Chano Pozo” Wolf makes him an even more unusual find. Keeping strictly
to vibes at Jazz Standard (Jun. 9th), Wolf brought on
board pianist Lawrence Fields, bassist Eric Wheeler
(subbing for Kris Funn) and drummer John Lamkin for
an inspired one-nighter. The second set commenced
with the midtempo “Soul Sister”, gliding and funky in
a ’70s McCoy Tyner vein. Wolf continued with “Para
Mejor o Peor” (“for better or worse”), a fine jazz ballad,
which grew into more of a rock power ballad by the
outro. “I Surrender Dear” started at a strutting
trad-jazz pace and after Wheeler ’s three able choruses
Wolf delivered the goods: a set of rousing stop-time
breaks and a virtuoso cadenza, the set’s defining
moment. Strayhorn and Ellington capped it off: “Lush
Life”, initially a vibes/piano duo, led to a breakneck
“Caravan”, powered by Lamkin’s galloping swing.
The first-rate piano solo left one wondering when
Fields will throw his hat in the ring as a leader. No
grand revelations here, but solid music-making, deep
in the tradition, from a highly promising group.
- David R. Adler
On
4 July 2011 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD
WHAT’S NEWS
N els Cline was born in 1956, Marc Ribot 1954. But O ne of the busiest, most recorded musicians in jazz
today, the ubiquitous Billy Hart has spent most of his
half-century career as a first-call sideman playing in
the service of others, sadly leaving little time for the
master drummer to front his own units. Fortunately,
the quartet assembled by pianist Ethan Iverson with
saxophonist Mark Turner and bassist Ben Street that
Hart presently leads has seen enough action during the
last decade to have developed into one of the tightest,
most exciting bands currently operating. Despite its
standard instrumentation, the group is anything but
typical in its approach to performance, thriving on a
sense of drama fueled by a constantly evolving
dynamic, which eschews complacency in favor of an
unrelenting quest for the sound of surprise. Beginning
its Friday night second set at the Village Vanguard
(Jun. 10th) with a dark bass and sprawling drums
preamble casting an ominous air over the room, the
group eased into the march-like melody of Iverson’s
“Mellow B”, Turner displaying his expansive range
and meticulous tonal control as he harmonized with
the composer ’s piano. The foursome worked out on
“Conception”, Hart driving his young bandmates at a
fierce tempo, then smoothly switching gears for his
beautiful “Charvez”. The whistling prelude to the
leader ’s “Children’s March” confirmed the group’s
penchant for the unexpected, which persisted through
the night as the players interacted seamlessly around
Hart’s powerful, virtuosic drumming.
- Russ Musto
Winners of the 2011 Jazz Journalists Association
Jazz Awards have been announced. If you are
looking for a surprise, go buy a box of Cracker Jack
(with the one exception being Bill Holman’s dethroning
of Maria Schneider as Arranger of the Year after she
had won the award eight years running!). After an
encouraging roster of awardees in 2010, this year’s
crop of winners is a great disappointment. There is
no need to single out any entities we feel did or did
not deserve their award; in a bit of Orwellian
semantics, some just deserved to win more. The real
issue at stake is the validity of such awards. If one
accepts that the Grammys - especially with their
recent contraction - are not an accurate reflection of
the jazz world at large, the community needs
something like the Jazz Journalists Association Jazz
Awards to single out special achievement. But with
such authority comes responsibility. Voting rates are
relatively low and many people are simply not
qualified to choose the best of the year in most
categories, whether it be through ignorance,
negligence or personal agenda. This is a microcosm
of the entire democratic process. Without an informed
and active electorate, you get corrupt and ineffective
government or skewed jazz awards. The voting bloc
should understand and accept the significance of
their voice or else forego their right to vote lest these
awards lose even more meaning. Still, we
congratulate all the winners and nominees. For the
complete list of 2011 winners, visit jjajazzawards.org.
Photo by Scott Friedlander
Photo by Peter Gannushkin/DOWNTOWNMUSIC.NET
both guitarists have the remarkable ability to play,
almost simultaneously, like musicians both 20 years
their junior and senior, strident progressivism mixed
with deep blues. The pair performed their debut
concert at Le Poisson Rouge (Jun. 15th) as a dual
celebration of the venue’s third anniversary and their
recent DownBeat cover story. Even if Ribot has a
Greenwich Village folksy vibe to him, in contrast with
Cline’s surfer-rock looks, they are actually two coils of
the same humbucker. They’ve had pop gigs - Tom
Waits (Ribot) and Wilco (Cline) - that belie some of
their more avant garde work as leaders and sidemen
for an array of national talent. But at the concert, they
eased slowly into the bombast the capacity crowd was
expecting, beginning on a pair of acoustic guitars for
pastoral, Americana-type musings, delicate at the
outset but quickly, almost fatalistically, devolving into
harsh atonal strums and careening single-note lines.
Most of the music seemed improvised, with the
exception of a blues (featuring drowsy vocals by Ribot)
and a take on the jazz standard “Easy Living”. Some of
the most interesting moments in the arc of the concert
came when Ribot switched to electric, matched by an
effected lap steel from Cline, Americana seen through
the lens of the Cold War of their early youth. By the
end, Cline picked up his Jazzmaster and stood to wax
Hendrixotic over Ribot’s air-raid intensity. 90 minutes
of guitar history as musical catharsis. - Andrey Henkin
Nels Cline & Marc Ribot @ Le Poisson Rouge
Billy Hart Quartet @ Village Vanguard
The spirit of this column is to present New York’s
unique position in the jazz world; the city is an
embarrassment of riches on any given night. One such
moment happened at Cornelia Street Café Jun. 1st with
the premiere performance of Sifter, the cooperative
trio of cornetist Kirk Knuffke, guitarist Mary Halvorson
and drummer Matt Wilson. A first-time ensemble but
hardly between unfamiliars; Knuffke is a key member
of Wilson’s quartet and subs in Halvorson’s quintet.
For the first set of this unusual instrumental ensemble
- almost a subset of old trad-jazz bands - all three
members wrote pieces. And though Wilson is a few
generations older, it was his playing that sounded the
youngest and most exuberant, easily coloring the
fractured, effected musings of Halvorson and Knuffke’s
stately cry. But it was the second set that embodies
why New York is so special. A tall guest was in the
audience, Danish saxophone legend John Tchicai, in
town for the upcoming Vision Festival. The trio invited
him up for a short-but-satisfying set played to a smallbut-spellbound crowd. Tchicai, a pioneer on two
continents, is an outsized personality, both literally
and musically, and he pushed the trio into anarchic
realms for a single, probing improvisation. Wilson
seemed to have more fun than usual punctuating
Tchicai’s wails while Halvorson sweep-picked alien
chords, Knuffke adding doleful commentary. Tchicai’s
spontaneous chant summed it up: “Anything can
(AH)
happen, one second to the next.” The all-too-rare appearance of the Wadada Leo Smith
Golden Quartet at Le Poisson Rouge (June 5th) as part
of last month’s Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT),
reaffirmed the importance of the semi-annual event in
presenting to local audiences important music that
might otherwise remain unheard. The New York
premiere of Smith’s Freedom Summer, part of a longer
work inspired by the Civil Rights movement, featuring
the latest edition of the composer ’s allstar band Angelica Sanchez (piano), John Lindberg (bass) and
Pheeroan akLaff (drums) - proved to be one of the
highlights of the three-day celebration. Smith, whose
attentiveness to sound and space has been the hallmark
of his music for decades, has in recent years shown a
powerful stylistic allegiance to Miles Davis’ similarly
driven approach. The plaintive tone of the trumpeter ’s
muted horn on the opening “Brown vs. Board of
Education” clearly identified him as one of the iconic
brassman’s most noteworthy successors while the
piece’s brilliantly intriguing construction unmistakably
marked him as one of contemporary music’s most
important composers. Weaving his clarion sound
(which often took on an electrified character despite
the absence of electronic alteration) within the vibrant
tapestry of his colleagues’ distinctive voices, there was
an ever-rewarding atmosphere of tension and release
as the band evoked the spirit of a gladly bygone era on
the suite’s songs: “Freedom Summers”, “Little Rock
(RM)
Nine” and “Rosa Parks”. It has been reported that altoist Lee Konitz suffered
a subdural hematoma while on tour in Australia and
had to cancel his immediate appearances, including
at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. The
83-year-old had successful surgery and we wish him
a speedy recovery.
The Library of Congress has launched the National
Jukebox in partnership with Sony Music
Entertainment. A massive collection of historical
recordings produced in the US between 1901-25 is
available for listening free of charge, the entirety of
Sony’s pre-1925 catalogue including 1,000s of
recordings produced by Columbia Records, OKeh,
and Victor Talking Machine Co. and others. Highlights
include recordings by Fletcher Henderson, Al Jolson
and Paul Whiteman Orchestra. For more information
or to peruse the collection, visit loc.gov/jukebox.
As part of a “Drummers Week” on the David
Letterman Show last month (which included Sheila
E and Rush’s Neil Peart), jazz legend and NEA Jazz
Master Roy Haynes was invited to play on the latenight talk show, a rare instance of jazz on mainstream
broadcast television. Maybe next Jay Leno will
devote an episode to bass clarinetists.
An online petition is circulating by the Justice for
Jazz Artists! organization. Its platform is to provide a
“safety net” for New York performing jazz musicians.
Legislation was passed in 2007 exempting clubs
from paying sales tax on admission charges, with the
intent that the money saved would go to pension and
health care funds for musicians. According to the
organization, no substantive progress has been
made towards the establishment of such funds since
then. The effort is being spearheaded by Local 802,
the Musicians Union. For more information, visit
justiceforjazzartists.org.
Submit news to [email protected]
5
INT ER V I EW
Photo by Salvatore Corso
Freddy
Cole
like Beefsteak Charlie’s and others where every day
you would see somebody. ...And the Brill Building.
You had songwriters coming down there that didn’t
know how to write out the music and you could write
it out for them. And boom! They would put lyrics to it
and run to the publisher to try to get it recorded.
TNYCJR: It was a different community.
FC: It was. And fortunately I was able to bridge the
gap between R&B people and jazz folks. You had to be
able to do both because they came right there and put
it on your platter.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 35)
by Andrew Vélez
S inger/pianist Lionel Frederick Cole, born Oct. 15th, 1931,
better known as Freddy, was the youngest of five children.
He grew up in a Chicago family in which “music was all
around.” All three of his older brothers, Eddie, Ike and most
famously Nat, were musicians. According to veteran record
producer/club proprietor Todd Barkan, who’s known Cole
for over 30 years, “Freddy is the great poet laureate of song.
His depth of feeling and his abilities as a compelling
storyteller are his greatest skills. He is a grandmaster
storyteller in song.” Later this summer, Cole will release
Talk To Me, his seventh album for the HighNote label.
The New York City Jazz Record: Your singing voice is
so different than your speaking voice.
Freddy Cole: (Chuckling) I never thought about it that
much. When you are singing you have a lot of help.
When you’re talking you’re just on your own.
TNYCJR: You came from a family in which four of the
children turned out to be musicians.
FC: The music comes from my mother ’s side of the
family I guess. She played piano and was a choir
director in my father ’s church. My dad was a Baptist
minister. There was music at the church and there was
always music in our house. ...I guess you could say
that I was blessed to be brought up in those
circumstances with music in and around me. Being
young it didn’t really make a dent in my brain until I
got to be a grown man. ...Some of the great people that
others would be in awe of... I just saw them and they
used to call me “Little Cole”. [Drummer] Osie Johnson,
he was one of the ones who started it. They were
persons that really looked after me when I was going
to Juilliard and I was out on the New York streets... You
know [drummer] Sonny Greer; I would have to say
Sonny would be on my case more than any of the other
ones. He kept me on the straight and narrow. If they
saw me doing something, they’d pull my coat to it.
They were very helpful to me about temperament and
about doing what you got to do to keep on moving.
TNYCJR: Ahmad Jamal said he doesn’t see as much
mentoring by older musicians going on as when he
was coming up and what a difference it made.
FC: Oh, yeah, it does. I recall so many times those guys
would help you. ...A saxophone player in Chicago,
Swing Lee, a friend of my brothers and all. I was 17, 18
years old. I had a gig with him and he was going to
give me a solo on “Talk of the Town”. And I got to the
gig, man, was waiting to SHINE with this solo. I
practiced all day. And he got there and he called
another key on me. (Laughing) Well man, I was
devastated. I fumbled. After the set he called me over
and said, “I know you’re upset. But I did that for a
reason. Suppose you were playing with a singer who
sang in another key. When you tell me you know
something, then you know it all over the piano.” And
that never left me.
TNYCJR: I’m not sure that we learn anything except
through experience.
FC: Right, right. I’ve learned a wealth of things just
learning how to be a good listener. I just told my son,
who is a very fine musician... He flew in from Los
Angeles. He’s on the way to Nashville to do something
there. I told him, just remember what I told you, be a
good listener. He sings, he writes, he arranges. In fact I
just recorded one of his tunes on this date I finished.
The song is called “After All These Years”.
TNYCJR: Tell me some about the names you didn’t
think that much about when you were little.
FC: I really gained the utmost respect for them after I
got to where I would know about music. Basie would
always mess with me and tell me a joke. Duke was the
same all the time. Elegant and he spoke great English.
He was just a wonderful man.
JULY 2011
TNYCJR: You recorded a tribute to Billy Eckstine
(Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B, HighNote, 2010).
Sundays at 5:00 P.M. — All Are Welcome — Free
FC: Yeah, that was my man. B was an extraordinary
guy. He and my brother were very tight. Of course
everybody had the Mister B shirt collars. They played
him so much on the Chicago jukeboxes and you’d be
walking down the street and [hear] “Jelly, Jelly, Jelly”.
And he did “I Apologize”. All those songs. Talent-wise
you couldn’t argue with it. He truly was a balladeer.
...[For that CD] the hard part was narrowing them
down until we had 10 or 12 songs because he did so
much. And he was so musical that people just really
didn’t realize. He played trumpet and he would diddle
around on the guitar. He was my man. I just loved him.
TNYCJR: What about piano influences? Teddy Wilson?
Oscar Peterson?
FC: Teddy more so than Oscar. I never could play like
Oscar. Boy, he was a monster! He was a great guy too.
Teddy Wilson had that finesse that I tried to learn. Also
John Lewis. He was my favorite.
JAZZ VESPERS
3 — Dingman/Schonig Quartet
10 — Rob Scheps Core-tet
17 — Dave Cook Trio
24 — Art Baron Group
31 — Jamie Reynolds Trio
JAZZ ON THE PLAZA
Thursdays at 12:30 P.M. — Outdoor Concerts — Free
7 — Mike Moreno (guitar) Ensemble
14 — Jonathan Batiste (piano) Band
21 — Akiko Tsurugo (organ) Quartet
28 — Anat Cohen Ensemble
MIDTOWN JAZZ AT MIDDAY
Sponsored by Midtown Arts Common
Wednesdays at 1:00 P.M. — Suggested Donation: $10
TNYCJR: You lived in New York when you were a very
young guy in the ‘50s.
6 — Junior Mance (piano)
Hide Tanaka (bass)
FC: New York was really happening at that time. There
were a host of places to play, all kinds of things to do.
That’s why I say when those guys threw up a red flag
on me and pulled my coat on the dos and don’ts... For
instance [singer] Babs Gonzales, through Babs I met
James Moody and I met so many people. ...You would
go to hear other people and you tried to learn.
Nowadays musicians don’t have places to congregate
13 — Aaron Weinstein (violin)
Tedd Firth (piano)
20 — Bucky Pizzarelli (guitar)
Ed Laub (guitar)
27 — Roseanna Vitro (singer)
Mark Soskin (piano)
Junior Mance (piano)
Hide Tanaka (bass)
AR TIST F EA T U RE
Photo by Martin Morissette
Zeena
Parkins
For more information, visit zeenaparkins.com. Parkins is at Blue
Note Jul. 1st as part of the Spontaneous Construction series and
The Stone Jul. 30th solo and with William Winant. See Calendar.
Recommended Listening:
• John Zorn - The Bribe (Tzadik, 1986)
• Elliott Sharp/Zeena Parkins - Psycho-Acoustic
(Victo, 1994)
• Zeena Parkins - Moth=Maul=Betrayer (Tzadik, 1995-96)
• Nels Cline - The Inkling (Cryptogramophone, 1999)
• Phantom Orchard (Zeena Parkins/Ikue Mori) Orra (Tzadik, 2007)
• Zeena Parkins - Between The Whiles
(Table of Elements, 2010)
by Kurt Gottschalk
The fact that harpist Zeena Parkins was able to
premiere her new band - Zeena and the Adorables - at
Quebec’s Festival Internationale de Musique Actuelle
de Victoriaville on May 21st, nine days after the group
played Brooklyn’s Issue Project Room, says something
about her career as both a composer and improviser.
While the New York show was the first gig by the trio,
their Victo show was the first time they played the
material she’d written for the band publicly. That bit of temporal sleight of hand reflects the
parallel paths of her work: A noted member of the
‘Downtown’ scene since she moved to New York in
1984, Parkins has been composing for dance companies
for about as long. The two orbits have rarely crossed in
the past, but now - in Parkins’ greatest stake as a
bandleader to date - the worlds are vibrantly colliding.
The music the Adorables (which includes percussionist
Shayna Dunkelman and electronicist Preshish
Moments) played at the Victoriaville festival in fact
began as music for dance, commissioned by
choreographer Neil Greenberg for his piece Like a Vase
and performed live at Dance Theater Workshop in
November 2010. Parkins called on two students she’d
met while teaching at Mills College who had,
coincidentally, moved to an apartment around the
corner from her in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to play the
score live and a band was born. Working with dance companies is a common
avocation among experimental composers in New
York, even if the work often goes unnoticed in the
music world - and sometimes by dance audiences as
well. But for Parkins, it’s a key part of developing a
project like the Adorables and working within the
balance of composer and improviser. While she is no
doubt best known as the latter, she does several dance
commissions a year and has won three Bessie Awards
for composition for dance. That prize has also been
awarded to such musicians as David Byrne, Anthony
Davis and Julius Hemphill. “It’s that dilemma of being known as one thing so
much that people don’t even listen,” she said about the
dual role of the improvising composer. “But to me
personally I don’t ever need to make that distinction. “I’ve always had a lot of fusion and confusion
between the two and I like that,” she added with a
laugh. “It never would have been possible without the
dance world. You have months to rehearse and you
have multiple performances. It allows you to go where
you want to go at a fairly deep level.” Parkins is known for her work with such figures as
Ikue Mori, Elliott Sharp and John Zorn and also for
redefining the harp as an instrument that can stand up
to the electric guitar in volume and malleability.
Originally developed with the late cellist Tom Cora
during her time with him and Fred Frith in the group
Skeleton Crew, her electric harp (closer in size to an
Irish harp) has undergone a few transformations since
the ‘80s. “We just banged that first one together just to
see if it would work,” she remembered. “It was barely
tunable.” A couple of years later it was remodeled with
the assistance of another collaborator, Doug Henderson.
More recently - after a high-profile stint with the singer
Björk - she had a third model constructed, as well as
buying a beautiful full concert harp. While the harp has become her trademark, it’s not
her only instrument. The Detroit native completed
some coursework in piano performance at the
University of Michigan, but left before graduating. (“I
knew I wasn’t going to be a concert pianist and I felt
like my world was just getting smaller,” she said.) She
transferred to Bard where she discovered experimental
film, something that would later influence her own
music-making. But it was after a move to England that
she picked up the accordion and started thinking about
spontaneous performance. “When I landed in New York in the mid ’80s I had
this perfect skill set,” she said. “I had played in a circus
in London where I learned the accordion. I played
piano and I played harp so I got to play with a lot of
people and my associations in the dance community
started right away.” Parkins speaks with a genuine
humility about those early days and about being
invited to work with musicians she admired, but that
path led to higher profile work and, perhaps
unexpectedly, back to academia. Time spent at Mills
College in San Francisco led to her subsequently taking
over courses for turntablist Marina Rosenfeld at Bard.
“I wasn’t a school person,” she said, laughing again. “I
mean profoundly not a school person. So when Fred
[Frith] asked me to sub for him at Mills, I thought, ‘OK,
I really want to do a good job.’ This is a part of my
artistic process now. When I’m writing my syllabus it’s
like I’m writing some strange novel. So now I’m really
excited about it.” Another unexpected turn on that path was working
with pop superstar Björk, who herself has a strong
interest in performance and experimental music. “I
learned a lot about performance with her,” Parkins
said. “Being in a more pop world and learning more
about pop production - that whole relationship to
sound and constructing pieces and having jewels that
you can construct around to make a piece - that really
has informed my work since. I feel like I have a way of
being inside what I’m doing but knowing that there’s
something that emanates out of it. I really have much
more of a sense of my performance space and
performance energy now.” The influence can be heard in the Adorables
material. It’s instrumental music, often abstract or
atmospheric, but there’s a pop sensibility running
through it - something, Parkins said, she wouldn’t be
able to develop without a working band. “You can see
why people like Meredith Monk and Philip Glass have
their own ensembles, because you can work with them
and they know the languages,” she said. “When I work
with friends, I can really uncover things, which I know
I can’t do with two rehearsals and a gig. I can really
work with them, which I love.” v
JSjuly11
6/20/11
1:18 PM
Page 1
“Jazz Venue of the Year” ALL ABOUT JAZZ-NY “Best Jazz Club” NY MAGAZINE & CITYSEARCH
THU-SUN JUNE 30-JULY 3
GERALD CLAYTON TRIO JOE SANDERS - JUSTIN BROWN
MON JULY 4 CLOSED FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY HOLIDAY
TUE JULY 5
WED JULY 6
DARIO BOENTE
&
PROYECTO SUR
OSCAR FELDMAN - JOHN BENITEZ - DAVID SILLIMAN
OSMANY PAREDES
QUARTET
YUNIOR TERRY - LUDWIG ALFONSO - YUSNIER SANCHEZ
THU-SUN JULY 7-10
RENE MARIE
KEVIN BALES - RODNEY JORDAN - QUENTIN BAXTER
MINGUS
MONDAYS
MON JULY 11
MINGUS ORCHESTRA
MINGUS
MONDAYS
TUE JULY 12 TBA
WED JULY 13
JANE BUNNETT & HILARIO DURAN
THU-SUN JULY 14-17
HOUSTON PERSON
QUARTET
RICHARD WYANDS - RAY DRUMMOND - CHIP WHITE
MINGUS
MONDAYS
MON JULY 18
MINGUS BIG BAND
MINGUS
MONDAYS
TUE-WED JULY 19-20
ANIMATION
JORDAN GHEEN - JACOB SMITH - MATT YOUNG
FEATURING BOB
BELDEN & TIM HAGANS
THU-SUN JULY 21-24 7:30PM & 9:30PM ONLY
PAT MARTINO QUARTET
JOHN DAVID SIMON - LUCAS BROWN - SHAWN HILL
MINGUS
MONDAYS
MON JULY 25
MINGUS ORCHESTRA
MINGUS
MONDAYS
TUE JULY 26
ROB DUGUAY’S
SONGEVITY
JUSTIN KAUFLIN - NADAV SNIR-ZELNIKER
FEATURING ABRAHAM
BURTON - NOAH PREMINGER - YVONNE SIMONE
WED JULY 27
JOHN
BEASLEY QUINTET
ANTONIO HART - RASHAWN ROSS - JAMES GENUS - JEFF “TAIN” WATTS
THU-SUN JULY 28-31
FREDDY COLE QUARTET
RANDY NAPOLEON - ELIAS BAILEY - CURTIS BOYD PLUS SPECIAL GUEST HARRY ALLEN
7
THE MUSIC OF
BENNY CARTER ON
EVENING STAR RECORDS
NEW RELEASE
Deborah Pearl:
Souvenir of You –
New Lyrics to Benny
Carter Classics (ES-115)
“Pearl has taken 13 of Carter’s
compositions, added her own lyrics,
and produced a lovingly-crafted
collection that’s a worthy addition
to the Carter canon.”
--Bruce Lindsay, All About Jazz
“…a wonderful mix of melodies
that are full of joy, some blues,
and even a samba. There is a
surprise in every track of this
exquisite, joyous and sometimes
heart-rending project.”
--Tim Taylor, Audiophile Audition
Benny Carter Phil Woods:
Another Time,
Another Place (ES-104)
The Benny Carter Centennial Project (ES-113)
All-star tribute featuring Carter’s compositions and arrangements
interpreted by Phil Woods, Joe Wilder, Russell Malone, Loren Schoenberg,
Warren Vaché, Randy Sandke, Bill Kirchner and the Benny Carter Trio:
Chris Neville, Steve LaSpina and Steve Johns.
Includes a piano solo by Carter himself—his last recording.
A double CD recorded live at the
Regattabar, Cambridge, MA,
March 1996.
“Mutual respect lifts the music
to even greater heights than
one might imagine possible from
these two great players.”
--Russ Chase, IAJRC Journal
4 1/2 stars -- Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
“Amazingly, although the players span a range of generations, instruments,
and styles, everything here sounds so much like Carter’s music that it’s easy to
picture him playing on every track...”--Will Friedwald, NY Sun
www.lpb.com/eveningstar
www.cdbaby.com
“An instant classic for anyone
interested in the state of the
jazz saxophone.”
--Larry Hollis, Cadence
O N T HE CO VER
Photograph © 1994 Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos.
Benny Carter
Souvenir of Benny
by Alex Henderson
It’s quite ironic that this journalist is writing a cover
story on Benny Carter. In 1994, I was assigned by Jazziz
to write a cover story on the iconic jazzman, who was
87 at the time. Musicians of that stature usually have
publicists or managers who arrange interviews for
them, but in 1994, Carter preferred to be contacted
directly for interview requests - and when I called his
home phone number in Los Angeles, Carter himself
answered. Although polite, Carter seemed reluctant to
be interviewed and asked me to please give him some
time to consider my request. After a few more calls
(Carter answered his phone every time and wasn’t
screening the calls), it became evident that the
interview wasn’t going to happen; in 1994, he didn’t
feel that he had anything to tell the media that he
hadn’t already said in the past. But here I am, writing a
posthumous cover story on Carter years later.
Carter, who was born in New York City on Aug.
8th, 1907 and passed away on Jul. 12th, 2003 at the age
of 95, had one of the longest, most productive careers
in the history of jazz; he was a jazzman who emerged
when Calvin Coolidge was president and maintained a
busy schedule during the Bill Clinton years. Carter
was especially famous for his distinctive alto saxophone
playing, but he was also quite accomplished as a
trumpeter, clarinetist, composer, arranger and
bandleader. Despite all his achievements, Carter was
the opposite of self-aggrandizing; he even turned
down an offer to host Ken Burns’ Jazz series. And when
Carter ’s friends and colleagues remember his life, they
remember a man who was as humble as he was
accomplished.
“Benny had an aversion to self-promotion like few
people I ever met,” recalls veteran saxophonist Mel
Martin, who played with Carter extensively and was
among his close friends. “If you hung out with him as
a friend, it was great. But if you tried to officially
interview him, he had such an aversion to selfpromotion. I used to write for Saxophone Journal and
Jazz Improv and I begged Benny for an interview
numbers of times. But Benny just didn’t want to be
interviewed. And when he did agree to be interviewed,
it drove the interviewers crazy. They would ask, ‘What
was it like playing with Fletcher Henderson in the
1920s?’ And Benny would go, ‘Well, it was a gig.’”
The 69-year-old Martin continues: “Benny Carter
lived through so much jazz history. Here was a guy
who was close to Billie Holiday, Ben Webster, Coleman
Hawkins and on and on, but he didn’t like to dwell on
it. And I think that in Benny’s mind, that was the secret
to him staying youthful.”
The word “youthful” often comes up in connection
with Carter, whose MusicMasters recordings of the
‘80s-90s underscore the fact that even when he was in
his 80s, his chops hadn’t diminished at all. Jazz critic
Scott Yanow accurately described Carter ’s longevity in
All Music Guide, writing: “Carter was as strong an
altoist at the age of 90 as he was in 1936, when he was
merely 28.” And “humility” is another word that often
comes up in discussions of Carter ’s legacy. Jazz
historian Ed Berger, who produced many of Carter ’s
MusicMasters releases and co-authored the book Benny
Carter: A Life in American Music, remembers Carter as a
bandleader who was anything but egotistical. “You
hear all these stories about bandleaders who felt
threatened if one of their sidemen got too much
attention, but Benny Carter was the complete
opposite,” Berger explains. “Benny was delighted to
feature his sidemen and sometimes promoters would
say, ‘You should play more.’ And Benny would
respond, ‘Yes, but I have all these great musicians and
I want them to be heard.’”
Although media-shy, Carter was hardly a recluse
or a loner. He loved to hang out with his friends as
much as he loved to surround himself with musicians
of different ages. Jazz historian/tenor saxophonist
Loren Schoenberg, who was among Carter ’s close
friends, remembers him as a great talker who had little
patience with conversations he felt were overly
nostalgic.
“Benny didn’t want to talk about the past, which
was frustrating for people like me who are historically
oriented,” the 52-year-old Schoenberg notes. “Benny
really didn’t want to get into the past beyond a couple
of sentences. But as frustrating as that was, I totally
understand it. Benny always lived in the present and
future tense. He liked to surround himself with
younger people and the older I get, the more I have the
same proclivity.”
It isn’t hard to find jazz heavyweights who cite
Carter as a major influence. Alto sax giant Phil Woods,
who recorded some excellent two-alto albums with
Carter and is now 79, notes: “The first jazz I ever
played were transcriptions of Benny Carter solos. I was
13 years old. When they ask when I heard the first
music of Bird, I must give them the word: I worshipped
Benny Carter. And he was a dear friend until the end.”
Alto saxophonist/clarinetist Hal McKusick, who
turned 87 on Jun. 1st, says: “I believe Benny Carter
influenced most of us one way or another... I grew up
listening to Carter, Pete Brown, Tab Smith, [Johnny]
Hodges and Lester [Young] mostly. I always admired
Benny for his flawless technique and smooth approach
to playing jazz - always elegant.”
Another octogenarian who has fond memories of
Carter is 89-year-old tenor/alto saxophonist and flutist
Frank Wess. “Benny Carter was one of my idols,” Wess
explains. “Benny was always way ahead of everybody
else, even in the 1930s. I became aware of him when I
was about 14 years old. I admired him as a saxophonist;
I admired him as a trumpeter, a composer and a
bandleader. Benny was an all-around great musician
and he was a very nice man - a very polite man.”
Wess adds, however, that Carter ’s politeness
didn’t prevent him from getting his point across: “I
remember one time when Benny was conducting and
the players weren’t really in tune. Benny didn’t insult
the musicians; he just tapped on the stand and said,
‘I’ll try to give you a better beat.’ I admired Benny so
much.”
Although Carter was a native New Yorker, he spent
most of his life on the West Coast. In 1943, he moved to
Los Angeles, where he became one of the first AfricanAmericans to compose and arrange music for
Hollywood studios; television work followed in the
‘50s and ‘60s. “Benny Carter integrated Hollywood
before Jackie Robinson integrated the major leagues of
baseball,” Schoenberg notes.
Because he was so multifaceted, Carter touched
different artists in different ways. Vocalist Mary
Stallings has included some of Carter ’s songs in her
repertoire and she points out that his work was as
beneficial for singers as it was for instrumentalists.
“As a singer, it’s important to me to always
discover great music - and Benny Carter composed a
lot of great music,” asserts Stallings, who is now 70. “I
know what I like and what appeals to me and if it
touches my soul, I know it’s right. Songs either touch
me or they don’t; Benny Carter ’s songs touched me
deeply. His melodies were so poignant.”
Another singer who has been touched by Carter ’s
legacy is LA-based Deborah Pearl. Her new album,
Souvenir of You: New Lyrics to Benny Carter Classics
(which Ed Berger released on Evening Star Records,
the label he founded in 1992 with Carter ’s assistance)
contains 13 Carter songs for which Pearl wrote lyrics.
She explains that Souvenir of You was inspired not only
by Carter ’s artistry, but also by their friendship. Pearl
met Carter through his wife Hilma and spent many
hours in their home in the Hollywood Hills.
“I think that Benny made a contribution not only
with the music he left behind, but also with who he
was as a person,” Pearl observes. “Whenever I felt sort
of weird or funky, I would call up and go to Benny’s
house and hang out with him and Hilma. Being with
them, everything just sort of felt right with the world.
Benny and I connected; I felt like he got me.”
Carter ’s story is one that continues to be told by
his many admirers. Eight years to the month after his
death, Carter ’s career is still being celebrated with
everything from tribute albums, bands and concerts to
profiles on jazz-related websites. “Benny was about his
love of music and his love for Hilma and his love of life
itself,” Pearl stresses. “I think that’s why he remains so
relevant to the human condition.” v
For more information, visit bennycarter.com. A Benny
Carter Tribute is at 92nd Street Y Jul. 21st with Mary
Stallings, Phil Woods and others. See Calendar.
• Benny Carter - Chronological (Vol. 1-11)
(Classics, 1929-1954)
• Art Tatum/Benny Carter/Louis Bellson - The Tatum
Group Masterpieces, Vol. 1 (Clef-Pablo, 1954)
• Benny Carter - Jazz Giant
(Contemporary OJC-Fantasy, 1957-58)
• Benny Carter and His Orchestra - Further Definitions
(Impulse, 1961)
• Benny Carter & The American Jazz Orchestra Central City Sketches (Musicmasters-Nimbus, 1987)
• Benny Carter/Phil Woods - Another Time, Another
Place (Evening Star, 1996)
9
E NC OR E
Juini Booth
by Sean O’Connell
Much can be said
about a musician by
looking
at
his
employers. By the time
bassist Juini Booth was
30 his resumé included
‘70s
‘10s
experience
alongside
some of the most significant jazz artists of the ‘60s and
‘70s. His innate sense of time and reliability as a role
player has given Booth a career of which most people
could only dream.
Born in Buffalo on Feb. 12th, 1948, Booth began
skipping school to make dates with Chuck Mangione
and his brother Gap while he was still a teenager.
Inevitably Booth broke off for Manhattan where he
befriended drummer JC Moses at the East Village club
Slugs. Moses, who lived only a few blocks from the
venue, introduced Booth to some of his friends: Hank
Mobley, Paul Chambers, Kenny Dorham, Philly Joe
Jones. “Here’s this little young guy hanging around. So
they found a use for me,” recalls Booth. That use
turned out to encompass everything from Ron Carter ’s
castoff gig catching curveballs from Coleman Hawkins
at the Village Vanguard to a lifelong affiliation with the
Sun Ra Arkestra. “Sun Ra was an amazement. It was
not a band for the faint hearted. And it still isn’t.”
While still a teenager Booth received his greatest
education by replacing Reggie Johnson in Art Blakey’s
Jazz Messengers. For two years he crisscrossed the
country, five to a car, with every instrument case
strapped to the roof, playing every night alongside
Blakey’s thunderous hi-hat. “He taught me something,”
says Booth. “He gave me some muscles.” Unfortunately,
due to a little problem with the IRS, Blakey was dealing
strictly in cash during Booth’s tenure and no recordings
were ever made of that band.
Eventually Booth left the group to join Messenger
alum Freddie Hubbard - a band he would subsequently
quit and rejoin three times. Following his first stint
Booth set out for a change of pace in California where
he befriended drummer Shelly Manne and was never
at a loss for work. “I got to play with all the West Coast
guys - Bud Shank, Buddy Collette, Harold Land,
Gerald Wilson.” While enjoying the Pacific air Booth
landed two life-changing gigs in a week: a night
outside San Francisco with Cannonball Adderley’s
quintet and a set with Thelonious Monk at the 1969
Monterey Jazz Festival. “It was an incredible week,”
recalls Booth. “I could have died and gone to heaven. I
didn’t really know any of Monk’s songs but Monk
liked it.”
After a year of fun and sun Booth returned to New
York, debunking a rumor that had spread quickly.
“Milt Jackson said to me ‘Juini, there’s a rumor you’re
dead.’ I came back and everybody’s doing a double
take, like they’d seen a ghost.” In New York, Booth
played on Gary Bartz’ Harlem Bush Music albums,
participated in the avant garde loft scene and rejoined
Hubbard’s band for another few paychecks before
joining up with Tony Williams’ Lifetime. “Things were
changing. I started playing electric bass. My ears rang
for ten years after that.” This unit also went regrettably
unrecorded but there are a few bootlegs circulating of
the Lifetime band in Europe with Booth hiding in the
shadow of his amplification with organist Larry Young
in a keffiyeh seated behind him.
His time with Williams, like many of his other
gigs, was short-lived and Booth returned again to New
York, picking up work with pianist McCoy Tyner, who
had spent nine months as a Messenger. “I was off and
on with McCoy for five years. We did some duo gigs
and trio gigs,” says Booth. “His left hand. It would
break the thickest strings on the piano. Way down at
the bottom. I had to get out of the way sometimes.”
After a few recordings Booth’s restless bass led to work
with Elvin Jones. “It was loud but it was musical.” He
appeared on Time Capsule alongside Kenny Barron and
George Coleman before striking out on his own again.
Starting in the early ‘80s Booth began focusing on
solo bass work, earning recognition from the
International Society of Bassists and National
Endowment for the Arts. Although he still occasionally
performs solo Booth can often be found on the fringes
of Alphabet City playing an electric bass with his band
I Led 3 Lives at ambient space-lounge Nublu.
Despite 40-plus years in the business Booth still
looks like the youngest guy in the room playing a
blend of house, reggae and swing well into the
morning. But for all his accomplishments Booth is not
just sitting around talking about the good old days. He
is focused on the future with plans for a solo record
and other projects that will take him around the world
but always, inevitably, back to New York.
“I’m a loft session Wildflower. I’m a Sun Ra
satellite. I’m a Coltrane-ite. I’m a Jazz Messenger. I’m a
Tony Williams Lifetimer. I’m all these things. I look at
it and I say, ‘Well, that’s wonderful’ but it also says that
I never did something of my own. And this I’m trying
to change.” v
• Sonny Simmons - Music from the Spheres
(ESP-Disk, 1966)
• McCoy Tyner - Enlightenment
(Milestone-Fantasy, 1973)
• McCoy Tyner - Atlantis (Milestone, 1974)
• Chico Freeman - Beyond the Rain
(Contemporary OJC, 1977)
• Steve Grossman - Way Out East, Vol. 1&2 (Red, 1984)
• Charles Gayle - Ancient of Days
(Knitting Factory Works, 1999)
July 19th
Mike Longo Trio
July 26th
Jeff Siegal Quintet
For more information, visit juinibooth.com
LE ST WE F OR GE T
John Jenkins (1931-93)
by Donald Elfman
F or every celebrated musician in the jazz world, there
are countless others who, for one reason or another,
fall well beneath the radar and gain only some small
local acclaim or disappear into anonymity.
Alto saxophonist John Jenkins is not exactly
anonymous but this Parker-inspired player made very
few recordings and had a career that was but all too
brief. Still, connoisseurs know him and his limited
recorded output serves as evidence of a talent to be
experienced. Interestingly, in 1955, he twice replaced
Gigi Gryce - in Cleveland and Chicago - in groups led
by Art Farmer. Here was an early indication of Jenkins’
prowess as a postbopper.
John Jenkins was born in Chicago on Jan. 3rd,
1931. He studied with noted teacher Captain Walter
Dyett at the great music program at DuSable High
School. (Others who passed through the program there
included Gene Ammons, Von Freeman, Joseph Jarman,
John Gilmore, Wilbur Ware, Dinah Washington, Johnny
Hartman, Richard Davis and many others.) Jenkins’
first instrument was the clarinet but he later switched
to the alto. Joe Segal, who later ran Chicago’s famous
Jazz Showcase club, ran a series of popular jam sessions
at Roosevelt College and Jenkins played in those from
1949-56.
Jenkins played, but did not record with, Charles
Mingus in 1957 and in that same year made his only
albums under his own name (he had moved to New
York). John Jenkins and Kenny Burrell was done for Blue
Note and finds the saxophonist and guitarist as
co-leaders with the phenomenal rhythm section of
Sonny Clark (piano), Paul Chambers (bass) and Dannie
Richmond (drums). Jenkins wrote three originals of a
hardbop nature and his playing deeply reflects the
influence of Charlie Parker.
In the same year, Jenkins also recorded: Alto
Madness (Prestige) with Jackie McLean; Jenkins, Jordan
and Timmons, with Clifford Jordan and Bobby Timmons
(Prestige) and Star Eyes with Donald Byrd (Savoy). As
a sideman in 1957 he was one of the Prestige All-Stars
under Teddy Charles and also recorded with Hank
Mobley, Paul Quinichette, Clifford Jordan, Herbie
Mann and Wilbur Ware. All of these leaders and these
labels recognized an inspired and passionate musician
but, alas, after some sideman work through the early
‘60s and a few dates with organist/singer Gloria
Coleman, John Jenkins pretty much dropped out of
music.
Jenkins worked as a messenger in New York and
sold jewelry and brass objects to make a living. He
briefly took up the alto again in the early ‘80s, did
some playing on the streets and, in 1990, recorded at
Condon’s with fellow Chicagoan Clifford Jordan in the
latter ’s big band. Jenkins died Jul. 12th, 1993. His is a
voice that still deserves to be heard. v
ME GA PHON E
New Bottle, New Wine, New Table
by Ken Vandermark
Isn’t it time for a new modernism in our music? By this
I mean a move away from the classic, established forms
of jazz and improvised music toward completely new
structural considerations. Throughout much of the
20th century a creative dialectic existed between
generations, which led to exciting and innovative
expansion of artistic thought. When I look around and
listen to much of the current international scene, I can’t
shake the feeling that there isn’t enough of a push
against the past and pull toward the future.
What I do find is 1) a general concern about
“getting work” (and musicians have responded to this
problem more and more by creating their own
performance options); 2) a great knowledge of
historical styles (the current access to musical
information both aural and visual is unprecedented)
and 3) a new level of virtuosity among young musicians
(it would seem that the players that Anthony Braxton
has wanted for his most demanding music have arrived
in greater numbers). All of these developments are
positive and important: work ethic, knowledge,
instrumental discipline.
But what about ideas? Too often during a concert,
doesn’t it feel that there is a strong element of creative
complacency going on? Perhaps the music is played
well, but it’s formally predictable (the perpetuation of
‘head-solos-head’ structure without an attempt to vary
the sequence of events). Or there is an aesthetic
‘concept’ in place that’s recognizable within the first
minutes but never developed, the surface of the
musical ‘point’ is enough (yes AMM is great, but what
about the groups that can’t sustain narrative tension
with the materials they’ve chosen, reduced or
otherwise). Or there is a simplistic hybrid of styles
presented without concern for why the components
worked in the first place, the end result a diminution
of the source material (the energy of rock coupled with
the instrumental technique of jazz led to some seriously
bad fusion). Or old forms are analyzed into oblivion
with smug satisfaction (the difference between clever
and intelligent often lies in the use of irony). And on
and on.
Despite all the hard work going on, the
investigation of music history and the ability to play
whatever is at hand (scored or otherwise), doesn’t it
seem that something vital has been lost in the
contemporary discourse of jazz and improvised music?
I think that the issue may be that there has been a lack
of concern for the question, “What is the subject?”
Weren’t the rhythmic, melodic and harmonic
innovations that occurred during the ‘40s caused
because the subject matter for the Bebop generation
had shifted away from the artistic concerns of the ‘30s?
What was discussed by Lester Young and Coleman
Hawkins, et al, was no longer the focus for the
musicians of the next wave. Times had changed socially, politically, culturally. Charlie Parker and
Dizzy Gillespie (among others) turned the pop songs
of their parents upside down and found a whole new
way to portray their point of view with sound and
spontaneous narrative. The Beboppers completely
understood the subject, what they were going to
address with their music and why.
I would say the same is true with regard to the
work that John Coltrane did with his own group(s);
what Miles Davis did with the bands he led from the
‘50s to the ‘70s; what Duke Ellington invented for his
entire life; why Cecil Taylor found one way to open up
the expression of time in jazz and why Jimmy Giuffre
came up with another; why the English improvisers
like Evan Parker and Paul Rutherford found their own
language across the ocean from the United States; why
the Art Ensemble of Chicago created a socio-political
music-theater language nearly concurrent with what
was happening on the Dutch scene of the ‘70s, but with
completely different results. And on and on.
Isn’t it necessary for us to do the same thing in our
own time? Shouldn’t it be a requirement? As Mike Watt
states in the documentary about The Minutemen, We
Jam Econo, “All you had to do to belong was contribute.”
Isn’t it the same for us? I suggest that this means more
than getting gigs, being informed and developing
technique. It means finding a new subject for us to
describe, one that belongs to this period and whoever
is conveying it, whether an individual, a group, a
scene. I would suggest that this proposition is more
essential than jobs, a large record collection and access
to the Internet and hours in a practice room. Without
“the subject” the rest of it has no point.
A new modernism would free all of us in the
music, allow each individual to find different and
personal things to say. The subject matter may lead to
radical change, as the ideas of Ornette Coleman did. In
other instances, the world may be presented with a
unique voice, like that of Stan Getz. But in every case
the musicians will have the opportunity to contribute
something, belong to the legacy of jazz and improvised
music by adding to it with ideas, instead of maintaining
former structures, gestures and conventions. Without
question there are artists of my time that I hear doing
this: Ab Baars, Tim Daisy, Axel Dörner, Christof
Kurzmann, Elizabeth Harnik, Jason Moran, Joe Morris,
Paal Nilssen-Love, Craig Taborn, Håvard Wiik, to
name a few. There are many others and many I’m sure
I haven’t heard yet. These are the artists who inspire
me now, who have the creative attitude of Thelonious
Monk, the creative spirit of Derek Bailey, the creative
imagination of Billie Holiday.
By embracing the innovative conviction of these
musicians (past and present) - the integrity with which
they push(ed) ideas to the edge with spontaneous
sound and composition - we will locate the key to our
own directions. Because in the end, from an artistic
standpoint, it’s not just about gigs, erudition and chops
- it’s about ideas. v
accomplishes the task masterfully, however. She relies
on her long-time collaborators Mark Soskin (piano),
Dean Johnson (bass) and Tim Horner (drums) to pull it
off and violinist Sara Caswell contributes in no small
part to the album’s seductive mood. She launched the
CD at Dizzy’s Club last month but is following up with
a performance at Saint Peter ’s Midtown Jazz at Midday
Jul. 27th.
It’s hard to comprehend the assemblage of talent
on drummer Terri Lyne Carrington’s inspired
undertaking, The Mosaic Project (Concord). Imagine a
party where Nona Hendryx, Gretchen Parlato,
Esperanza Spalding, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Sheila E.,
Geri Allen, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson and
Bernice Johnson Reagon are all jamming on one heartstirring tune after another in a hodgepodge of soul,
funk, bebop and pop and you’ll get the idea. The CD
sets a new standard for female jazz accomplishment.
Legacies living on: Concord just issued a 50th
anniversary collection of the 12 tracks on Ring-A-Ding
Ding, the first album that Frank Sinatra recorded
under his own label Reprise. The tunes are all digitally
remastered for the CD, along with two bonus tracks,
one previously unheard. While there isn’t much new
here musically, enthusiasts will appreciate the welldone liner notes that document the beginnings of
Sinatra’s collaboration with arranger Johnny Mandel.
Not to be outdone, Storyville is offering a
comprehensive package of The Boswell Sisters’
extensive oeuvre of early traditional pop songs. At
more than 100 titles, The Boswell Sisters Collection covers
the trio’s decade-long career in the ‘20s-30s. Like
Carrington, the three women did their own
arrangements, as revolutionary in their day, perhaps,
as Carrington is in ours.
July gig list: Mark Murphy plays Birdland Jul.
24th; Tierney Sutton and Claudia Acuña are at Dizzy’s
Club Jul. 19th-24th and 26th-31st, respectively, and
Miles’ Café hosts Dee Cassella Jul. 9th and Deborah
Latz Jul. 12th. v
For more information, visit kenvandermark.com.
Vandermark is at The Stone Jul. 8th-9th. See Calendar.
Since the spring of 1986, Ken Vandermark has focused on
expanding the possibilities of improvised and composed
music. He’s worked continuously from the middle ‘90s
onward - both as a performer and organizer in North
America and Europe - and his creative emphasis has been
contemporary music that deals directly with advanced
methods of improvisation. Vandermark moved to Chicago
from Boston in 1989. Since then he’s performed and recorded
in a vast array of contexts and with many internationally
renowned musicians, touring on a regular basis in North
America, Europe and Japan for more than half of each year.
His concerts and numerous recordings have been critically
acclaimed both at home and abroad.
Little Apples:
A Collection of Fiction
by
The New York City Jazz Record contributor
Kurt Gottschalk
“Kurt’s writing is hilarious,
surprising, full of power and
feasts on his knowledge
of music.” – Roy Nathanson
Available in print
or pdf format at
www.lulu.com/spotlight/SpearmintLit
Or from Downtown Music Gallery
VO X NEW S
by Suzanne Lorge
R oseanna Vitro started her career in Texas, working
her way through rock, blues, gospel and R&B,
eventually landing in jazz, where she’s remained since.
She has toured internationally as a jazz ambassador for
the US State Department, headlined at Kennedy Center
and Lincoln Center and released 12 albums for
Concord, Challenge, Half Note and Telarc.
Yet Vitro’s latest release - her first for Motéma
Music - is a departure from her Songbook mainstays.
On The Music of Randy Newman Vitro tackles 10 of the
composer ’s pop and movie tunes, the entirety a brave
plunge into the depths of Newman’s provocative work.
It’s brave because the lyrics take on some tough
subjects - slavery, aging, despair. And the tunes
themselves have to be bent to fit a bop or swing or
Latin groove - not always an easy task with pop tunes
and certainly not with pop tunes carrying a social
comment (they tend to be word-heavy). Vitro
11
LA BE L SPO T LIG HT
John Russell
Hyste
Adam Linson
Nate Wooley/Paul Lytton
Creak Above 33
Whitstable Solo
Evan Parker
no stranger to producing records. Back in 1970 he was
a founder of Incus, one of the first musician-run labels
and a very influential one, setting an important
precedent for countless musicians. When he left Incus
in 1986, at the dawn of the CD era, he was becoming
one of the world’s most widely recorded musicians.
Today he’s built up a very large discography on labels
like ECM, Emanem, FMP and Leo.
By 2001, though, Parker found he “missed the
feeling of overseeing a project from start to finish that
I had known during the initial phase of Incus” and
launched psi. According to his mission statement, it’s
called “psi for all the associations with irrational
numbers, golden ratios, etc. but above all for the Psi
phenomena, which I am convinced are at the heart of
improvised music making.” The name is also a kind of
punning signature: Parker ’s initials are ESP.
To make psi function, Parker works closely with
Martin Davidson of Emanem: “Without Martin I could
not do it. I have a busy touring schedule, which shows
no signs of abating. Every psi production requires my
involvement at every stage, but Martin is there as
facilitator. In fact, there is no business entity separate
from Emanem. This simplifies my relations with
bureaucratic authorities. Martin has the complete
complementary and essential skill set at every stage of
the process. His uniquely equable temperament is
to an end, and Set the commission from SDR which
effectively subsidized a very elaborate and technically
demanding idea.”
There are also regular arrivals of new musicians.
In his mission statement for the label, Parker wrote,
“Our reason for making records is to present unique
statements from individuals making music their own
way regardless of genre.” It means just as much to the
musicians. Bassist Adam Linson remarks, “I think it’s a
very powerful sentiment. The possibility of making
unique statements is what sent me down this path in
the first place. It implies avoiding anachronistic
reproduction in favor of statements that are part of
today’s environment and perspectives. A project like
Systems Quartet that incorporates aspects of both jazz
and computer music poses a difficulty for the divided
camps of existing establishments. Thankfully, we have
psi.”
Linson’s just-released Systems Quartet disc with
Axel Dörner, Rudi Mahall and Paul Lytton points to
psi’s place in bridging acoustic and electronic
improvisation. For Parker, “It’s part of the work where
I think I can claim to have pioneered effectively. The
Electro-Acoustic Ensemble goes back more than 20
years and before that the Music Improvisation
Company and the duo with Paul Lytton both had
important electronic - as distinct from amplified elements. It is a leitmotif in my opera so to speak!”
And it’s a key to psi’s identity: Parker has created
a label with the feeling of an expanded musical family.
Many of the musicians who appear on psi have worked
with his expanding Electro-Acoustic Ensemble, like
Figures and Grounds
W hen Evan Parker launched psi a decade ago, he was
Hans Koller
by Stuart Broomer
perhaps the most important skill of all. Total trust is
also essential.
From the start, Parker ’s concerns have been “to
represent my own music in the way I like to see it done
and to draw people’s attention to the work of other
musicians who I feel are not given the prominence they
deserve, whether young, middle aged or even the
terrifying ‘old’.” As he points out, “without recordings,
there is no hope of a professional existence. Apart from
their important function in documenting the musicians’
work, they are also the calling cards to promoters and
commentators.”
Surveying the psi catalogue, you get a sense of its
multiple functions for Parker. There’s the systematic
presentation of his solo soprano music from reissues
like Solo Saxophone and Conic Sections to new chapters
like Lines Drawn in Light. Pisa 1980 Improvisors
Symposium is among the reissues, an essential meeting
of diverse Europeans that has grown by 94 minutes
from a single LP to a two-CD set. There are new
recordings with old friends, including duets with
drummer Han Bennink and pianist Stan Tracey and,
from 2002 to 2007, psi chronicled the annual Free Zone
Appleby, the free improvisers segment of the England’s
Appleby Jazz Festival.
Parker has also managed to document some
ambitious projects, like the very different octets of
Crossing the River and Set, based on “the mechanisms of
biological evolution.” Parker points out that: “These
are both examples of work that would be difficult to
find support for elsewhere. They also took advantage
of specific situations: Crossing the River the long-term
association with Gateway Studios, which was coming
Cry, Want
psi Records
LISTEN UP!
M ATT
MITCHELL is a pianist, composer and
electronic musician from Philadelphia. He performs
regularly throughout the US and the world. He has
released several albums on Scrapple Records and has
participated in several recordings in 2011 which should
see the light of day later in the year and in 2012.
I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I was 13.
Ravish Momin, Franz Hautzinger and others.
Dream Band: Given all the people I get to play with, I
feel like I’m living the dream life.
Teachers: Joseph Earl (trombonist), Jack Warren
(classical guitarist), Tommy Johnson, Roger Bobo and
Sergio Carolino.
Teachers: Michael Cain, Ralph Alessi, Elizabeth
DiFelice, Luke Gillespie, David Baker, Benjamin
Witten.
For more information, visit mattmitchell.us. Mitchell is at
Cornelia Street Café Jul. 15th and 30th with Tim Berne,
Barbès Jul. 16th with Matt Bauder, I-Beam Jul. 22nd with
Darius Jones and Jazz Gallery Jul. 27th as part of the SIM
Faculty Band. See Calendar.
Influences: Feldman, Xenakis, Monk, Hancock, Jarrett,
Hill, Taylor, Bley, Abrams, Powell, Miles ‘64-75,
Autechre, Weather Report, Napalm Death, Gorguts,
Immolation, Merzbow, XTC, The Beatles, Zappa,
Cardiacs, Bernard Parmegiani, Ornette and tons of
artists I’ll remember only after submitting this.
Current Projects: My sextet Central Chain with Tim
Berne, Oscar Noriega, Mary Halvorson, John Hébert
and Tomas Fujiwara, Tim Berne’s Los Totopos, Tim
Berne/Matt
Mitchell/Ches
Smith
Trio,
John
Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet + 1 and Large Ensemble,
Darius Jones Quartet, Fourth Floor duo with Dan
Weiss. Duos with Ches Smith and Dave King to surface
later this year. Also activity this year with Rudresh
Mahanthappa/Bunky Green’s Apex and Rez Abbasi’s
Invocation. I also teach at SIM (schoolforimprov.org).
By Day: Practicing and composing in preparation for
any/all of the above.
Did you know? I have three cats.
Influences: Giocinto Scelsi, George Frederich Haas,
Thomas Ades, Stravinksy, Brahms, Debussy. Charlie
Parker, John Coltrane, Bob Stewart, Howard Johnson
and Marcus Rojas.
Current Projects: My own ensemble is the Zozimos
Collective. I also perform with Sanda’s Weigl’s
Japanese/gypsy band, Martin Vejerano’s group Chia’s
Dance Party, the TILT Brass Ensemble and Opus Nine
will premiere my piece “Atsumor” this September.
By Day: Gigs, rehearsals, teaching, studying, part-time
jobs!
I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I heard “Für
Elise” played by a classmate in 4th grade.
Matt Mitchell
As
Ben Stapp
a tubist and composer, BEN STAPP is on the
forefront of New York’s creative music scene. His
debut CD (Ecstasis with Tony Malaby and Satoshi
Takeishi) received an honorable mention in the Village
Voice and allaboutjazz.com called it “a debut of a fresh
new sound.“ He has recorded with Shoko Nagai, Ken
Filiano, Herb Robertson, Alipio Neto, Adam Lane,
Dream Band: The Zozimos Collective.
Did you know? I lived in Portugal for two years.
For more information, visit benstapp.com. Stapp is solo at
Downtown Music Gallery Jul. 3rd and University of the
Streets Jul. 13th with Beaux Arts Brass Quintet. See
Calendar.
F ES TIVA L R EPOR T
Moers
by Mike Chamberlain
by John Sharpe
by Ken Waxman
Photo by Alan Nahigian
(c) Susan O’Connor www.jazzword.com
Vision Festival
Photo by Martin Morissette
FIMAV
Peter Brötzmann
Planetary Unknown
Ornette Coleman
Artistic director Michel Levasseur acknowledged in
the closing press conference that it took two years for
the renewed Festival International de Musique Actuelle
de Victoriaville (FIMAV) to take, both for the
organization and for the audience.
Following the 25th edition, in 2008, Levasseur and
his team took a year off for rest and reflection, returning
in 2010 with a leaner version - four days instead of five
on the Victoria Day long weekend. The lineup for 2010
was also thin on paper, with half of the 20 concerts
featuring artists from Quebec, whose names would not
draw people from outside. And Montrealers were little
inclined to travel two hours to see artists who play
regularly in the city. This year ’s schedule offered more
in terms of star power - a relative term in the world of
outside music - with performances by The Ex,
Merzbow, Anthony Braxton and Peter Brötzmann
among the 20 presentations.
The 27th edition (May 17th-20th) began strongly
with the North American premiere of Tokyo Taiga, the
trio of vocal artist Koichi Makigami, vocalist/
percussionist Sato Masaharu and Altai throat musician
Bolot Bayrishev, the gravity of whose voice rose from
the primordial depths, the hipster/detective persona
of the beatboxing Makigami combining with the tribal
and extraterrestrial elements of earth and sky evoked
by Bayrishev’s soft upper register drone and his
strumming on the guitar-like kai.
The Ex and Brass Unbound (Ken Vandermark,
Mats Gustafsson, Wolter Wierbos and Roy Paci) was
the most joyous performance of the festival. The harddriving funky wall of sound, elements of reggae, West
African timbres, the careening guitars of Andy Moor
and Terrie Hessels, the collective horn improvisations,
the inspired solo breaks of Italian trumpeter Paci and
the absolutely astonishing power of Gustafsson’s
baritone sax backed by Katherina Bornefeld’s big drum
sound showed what a jazz/rock fusion should sound
like, taking the strongest elements of both musics and
combining them in an expression of power and soul.
Peter Brötzmann’s two sets showed two very
different sides of his work. A trio with Paal NilssenLove and Massimo Pupillo was a blast of pure power,
Nilssen-Love kicking off in high gear and flying all
over the drum kit for the hour-long set, with Pupillo
thrashing on electric bass and Brötzmann firing out
short bursts of notes. Repetitious, yes, but in the same
way that the blues are, with the interest lying in the
variations and build-up of tension, which came about
20 minutes in when the group moved into what
sounded like “Cherokee” and Brötzmann played an
abstraction of a solo line. Much less abstract was
Brötzmann’s solo set the next afternoon. Performed
In these straitened times it is a singular pleasure to
behold a festival run by and for artists without being
indebted to the vagaries of corporate sponsorship.
Now in its 16th year (Jun. 5th-11th), New York’s annual
Vision Festival remains the premier international
showcase for avant jazz, drawing in numerous overseas
visitors alongside those from out of state. Alongside
the expected stars, this year ’s roster was noticeable for
the greater visibility of up-and-coming musicians and
bands, helped by one night in conjunction with the
Festival of New Trumpet Music. After a tentative start
the final four days ranked with the very cream of
previous Vision fare.
Each year the Vision Festival celebrates one of its
own. For the first time, that honoree came from across
the Atlantic, with German saxophone iconoclast Peter
Brötzmann catching the bouquets. Now 70 but in no
way diminished, Brötzmann’s distinctive ensemblecleaving bellow raised the hairs on the back of the
neck. His stamina also remained unrivalled, on display
for over 150 minutes without flagging in three excellent
sets to a sell-out crowd. His quartet with fellow veteran
Joe McPhee was the pick, their impassioned horns
cushioned by the deeply resonant twin basses of
William Parker and Eric Revis. Even then, Brötzmann
was taking risks, debuting a duo with the vibes of
Jason Adasiewicz, a format with few precedents, but
one where Adasiewicz rose to the challenge. The final
set with Ken Vandermark, Mars Williams and Kent
Kessler, powered by drum dynamo Paal Nilssen-Love
showed how familiarity can breed not contempt but
cohesion. All four have been part of Brötzmann’s
Tentet and in some ways this was a scaled-down
version of that celebrated agglomeration: on-the-fly
arrangements, great transitions, mastery of dynamics
and near-telepathic understanding borne of shared
experience.
Other highlights included the debut of avant jazz
supergroup
Planetary
Unknown,
comprising
saxophone colossus David S. Ware (looking unwell),
paired with pianist extraordinaire Cooper-Moore and
the stellar rhythm team of Parker and Muhammad Ali,
in a towering performance of power and strength.
Unlike their recent AUM Fidelity recording, here there
was no let up in the intensity. Ware, his magisterial
tone still intact, went for broke playing virtually nonstop the entire set, often in tumultuous interaction
with Cooper-Moore who gave it his all: when chords,
clusters and glissandos weren’t enough he resorted to
fists and forearms too. Similarly outstanding,
Paradoxical Frog (Ingrid Laubrock, Kris Davis,
Tyshawn Sorey, with guest Mat Maneri) were evidence
of a new order, with bewildering compositions
O rnette Coleman’s performance at Germany’s Moers
Festival was the surprise birthday present for its 40th
edition, which took place Jun. 10th-12th about 50 miles
from Cologne. Announced earlier, cancelled and
rescheduled, the jazz legend’s performance wasn’t
noted in the official program. Appearing on the fest’s
final night, Coleman’s quartet turned in a suitably
magisterial set, with the leader infusing his tongue
flutters and altissimo reed cries with genuine emotion.
Segueing through short selections including classics
like “Dancing in Your Head” and “Lonely Woman”,
the alto saxophonist’s lines swooped, swerved and
sighed, bringing a distinct blues sensibility to
everything. Meanwhile bassist Tony Falanga’s robust
strumming and contemplative bowing paced the
material, as electric bass guitarist Al MacDowell used
guitar-like fingerpicking to color the proceedings.
MacDowell’s head elaborations in unison with
Coleman’s lines, or flowing call-and-response patterns
with Falanga, were buoyed by unforced backbeats
from drummer Denardo Coleman.
Moers’ 20 featured performances took place in
reportedly Europe’s largest circus tent. In a positive
way, Moers is like a three-ring circus. Besides shows
for the tent’s massive audience, the festival hosts
smaller gigs elsewhere. Daily late-night sessions
showcased younger Cologne jazzers, mid-morning
improvisations mixed players from different bands
plus during the week primary schoolers were taught
improvisational rudiments by experienced players. An
afternoon recital by 25 pupils plus instructors such as
saxophonist Georg Wissel and tubaist Carl Ludwig
Hübsch almost confirmed the anti-free music taunt
that “my kid can play that” as students created wellpaced, rhythmically challenging sounds. Following
that experiment with protoplasmic sound extensions,
however, the instructors proved that in-the-moment
improv is more sophisticated and demands immediate
responses. An example occurred when some players
picked up on one child’s repeated nose blowing,
incorporating sonic parodies of her nasal honks into
their solos.
Coleman’s earlier appearance at Moers was in
1981. Drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, also featured
that year, returned in 2011 with the Encryption trio of
bassist Melvin Gibbs and guitarist Vernon Reid, who
also played with him in the Decoding Society 30 years
ago. Solid in accompaniment that included crosspulsing and bass drum accents, Jackson’s playing
belied the minor heart attack he suffered the day
previously. He checked out of the hospital for the show,
returning for observation immediately afterwards.
Using thumping accents and slurred fingering
13
CD R EVI EW S
Oracle
Russ Lossing (hatOLOGY)
by Anders Griffen
Listening to jazz, we often hear the influence of the
masters filtered through new artists. One can pick out
major influences right away. However, listening to
Russ Lossing’s Oracle, we mainly hear Russ Lossing.
It’s not that the influences and the tradition are
not present. On the contrary, it’s all here and then some
- from Scriabin to Bill Evans, Bartók to Paul Bley - but
Lossing isn’t a newcomer. He’s not an old timer either,
but he’s devoted himself to crafting his language, to
“detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes
across his mind from within,” as Emerson wrote. His
phrases are formed with tone and touch the way a
vocalist shapes words with breath and nuance to
articulate the message and he has developed an
expansive vocabulary to spark and kindle his
explorations.
Drummer Billy Mintz and bassist Masa Kamaguchi
are kindred spirits. The command these musicians
possess allows them to render new forms and build
fine structures within these compositions. The prized
element is space. The ensemble is free to explore in
such a way that is only possible when each has all the
room in the world and allows the same for his mates that is great ensemble work. This space opens
dimensions of possibilities as the subtle articulates
minute details in the worlds discovered within each
piece. The listener, too, is granted abundant space.
“Beautiful Ugly” and “Love and Beauty” are highlights.
The recording is very successful in preserving the
character of the instruments with enough headroom
and air that they don’t interfere with one another
sonically. There is room to savor the tones of each
expression. This is fine music for attentive listening.
For more information, visit hathut.com. Lossing is at The
Stone Jul. 1st with Michael Attias and Jul. 5th and Korzo
Jul. 26th with this group. See Calendar.
Wiry Strong
Ralph Alessi And This Against That (Clean Feed)
by David R. Adler
There’s a good deal of continuity between Wiry Strong,
the latest release from trumpeter Ralph Alessi’s This
Against That and previous efforts such as Look, a 2007
outing with the same personnel. A key difference,
however: tenor saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, a “special
guest” on four tracks from Look, is now billed as a fullfledged quintet member. Between the two frontline
horns, Andy Milne’s spacious piano and the rugged,
textural rhythm of bassist Drew Gress and drummer
Mark Ferber, Alessi gives himself an enticing range of
options. He goes the route of tight orchestration, spiky
melodies, darkly suggestive harmony and flowing
improvised dialogue, hard-edged but not without a
certain tenderness on numbers such as “Halves and
Wholes” and “Mira”.
Of the 15 tracks, all are Alessi’s originals save for
four collectively-composed pieces: “Pudgy”, “Racy
Banter”, “Celebrity Golf Classic” and the opening
“Clown Painting”. Curiously, these brief abstract
sketches, marked by odd timbres and repeating
rhythmic patterns, are recorded a bit louder than the
main body of the album, giving the disc a slightly
uneven aural effect (perhaps the intention of
co-producers Alessi and Tim Berne). Elsewhere, subtle
overdubbed trumpet backgrounds on “Station Wagon
Trip”, “Halves and Wholes” and the closing title track
enhance the chamber-jazz aspects of Alessi’s writing.
The playing is sonorous and vibrant, although at 72
minutes the program drags in spots.
Drummers are key to Alessi’s springy, funkinflected rhythmic language, as Nasheet Waits proved
on the trumpeter ’s laser-focused 2010 quartet outing
Cognitive Dissonance. On Wiry Strong it is Ferber who
lends momentum and wide-ranging percussive colors:
martial snare patterns on “Bizarro-World Moment”;
rolling toms on “20% of the 80%”; skittering motion on
“A Dollar in Your Shoe” and rubato musings leading to
a bright, surging tempo on “Medieval Genius”. But
repeat listens drive home how every bandmember not least of all Alessi with his soaring and allusive
horn - brings this complex contrapuntal world into
relief.
always fascinating and emphasized how different a
musician he was from those he worked with, Grappelli
included. The gulf is even more noticeable on the
tracks that feature reedman André Ekyan, who is heard
on about a third of the tracks here in place of Grappelli.
This collection illustrates the folly of overlooking
Django’s later work. His playing is as full of fire and
imagination as it ever was and the only reason for any
Reinhardt devotee not to seek out this anthology
would be wanting the complete collections issued by
Fremeaux & Associes.
For more information, visit legacyrecordings.com. A Django
tribute is at Birdland Jul. 1st-3rd. See Calendar.
For more information, visit cleanfeed-records.com. Alessi is
at The Stone Jul. 1st with Michael Attias and Jazz Gallery
Jul. 27th and 30th. See Calendar.
RECOMMENDED
NEW RELEASES
The Essential Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt (RCA-Legacy)
by Duck Baker
Modifiers like “essential” always get a reviewer ’s
attention, since prospective buyers always want to
know whether they are being applied with any
accuracy. In this case, no one is likely to argue that
these recordings from late in guitarist Django
Reinhardt’s career represent his most significant work.
But they do offer an excellent selection from sessions
recorded in Rome in 1949-50 and make a great
introduction to his often-underrated later work.
Django’s position as the first really great jazz
guitar soloist seems secure, as does his standing as the
greatest European jazzer of the 20th century. He
adapted the gypsy flair for instrumental brilliance and
romanticism to swing, taking Louis Armstrong as his
musical model and, in his ability to improvise
melodically, Django showed real understanding for the
essence of what Armstrong and other Americans did,
even though his musical vocabulary was always
sweeter and more flowery. The last was even truer of
his partner in the Quintette du Hot Club de France,
Stephane Grappelli, though at his best the Parisian
violinist could swing quite nicely. The Quintette was
formed in 1935 and enjoyed enormous success until
Grappelli decamped for England in 1939, leaving
Django to lead other lineups. None of these was ever as
convincing as the prewar group, but Reinhardt and
Grappelli did work together several times after the
war and the recordings they made in Rome are of
particular interest.
Django’s playing had evolved considerably during
the ‘40s. He incorporated some of the boppers’
innovations and if this wasn’t always successful it was
• Chris Dingman - Waking Dreams (Between Worlds)
• Stefon Harris/David Sánchez/Christian Scott Ninety Miles (Concord Picante)
• Pat Metheny - What’s It All About (Nonesuch)
• Jochen Rueckert - Somewhere Meeting Nobody
(Pirouet)
• Craig Taborn - Avenging Angel (ECM)
• David Weiss & Point of Departure Snuck Out (Sunnyside)
David Adler
New York@Night Columnist
• Frank Carlberg - Uncivilized Ruminations
(Red Piano)
• Delirium - Green Side Up (ILK Music)
• Fred Ho and the Afro Asian Music Ensemble Deadly She-Wolf Assassin at Armageddon!/
Momma’s Song (Innova)
• Howard Riley - The Complete Short Stories
1998-2010 (NoBusiness)
• Gebhard Ullmann/Tá Lam 11 Mingus! (Jazzwerkstatt)
• Dr. Michael White - Adventures in New Orleans Jazz
Pt. 1 (Basin Street)
Laurence Donohue-Greene
Managing Editor, The New York City Jazz Record
• Elton Dean’s Ninesense Suite/Beckett/Miller/Moholo
(Jazzwerkstatt)
• Michael Dessen Trio - Forget The Pixel (Clean Feed)
• London Improvisers Orchestra - Lio Leo Leon (psi)
• Louis Moholo-Moholo/Dudu Pukwana/
Johnny Dyani/Frank Wright Spiritual Knowledge and Grace (Ogun)
• The Shift - Songs from Aipotu (Leo)
• Starlicker - Double Demon (Delmark)
Andrey Henkin
Editorial Director, The New York City Jazz Record
Discovers Cargo Cult (CIMP)
Noisy Love Songs (for George Dyer) Okkyung Lee (Tzadik)
Inner Landscape Daniel Levin (Clean Feed)
by John Sharpe
It wasn’t until he broke his arm in 1949 that bassist
Oscar Pettiford became a jazz pioneer on the cello. He
experimented with its smaller cousin, which he could
play even with his arm in a sling and performed and
recorded on it for the rest of his career. But not until
the ‘60s New Thing did the cello properly find its
place. Today the cello plays second fiddle to no one,
especially on the three discs at hand.
Cellist Tomas Ulrich leads the string trio Cargo
Cult through their fourth outing on Discovers. Lauded
for his ability to bridge the jazz and classical worlds,
Ulrich goes even further here, bringing a finely honed
improvisational sensibility to the table. Bassist Michael
Bisio and guitarist Rolf Sturm have similarly wide
ranging tastes and firmly sublimate their abundant
technique to the needs of the music. This predominantly
tuneful set sounds like three friends having fun,
demonstrating a mutual love of melody. Bisio proves a
surefooted anchor, buoying up the ensemble but
blending the lithe and the lyric in his features,
particularly a fine pizzicato spot on “A New Day”.
Sturm fits right in, whether cleverly inserting Morse
code suggestions into the spiky swing of “To Birds” or
milking the high drama of “Oil”. A democratic ethos
manifests through shared writing credits, elegant
interplay and ample solo room. On “Mixed Emotions”
the leader partakes of a darkly abrasive and animated
arco duet with Bisio while the extreme register
murmurings of “Walking Through Those Shadows”
unfurl into an appropriately mournful three-part
counterpoint before a series of anguished variations.
Bisio’s “History of a Mystery: H. floresiensis” moves
from violent to ruminative, concluding a pastoral idyll
with a sweetly lilting theme.
Strings also loom large on Noisy Love Songs, as
cellist Okkyung Lee unveils a program that focuses as
much on compositional structures as the unfettered
explosions for which she is better known. Though
monster improvisers like Craig Taborn and Peter
Evans are on board, their contributions are used
sparingly and with surprising restraint, as part of a
revolving cast. “Danji” is a mercurial pas-de-deux for
Taborn’s crystalline piano and Lee’s swooping cello
while “Saeya Saeya” adds Evans to the mix in an
exchange of smeary gesture. Those two improvisations
apart, most of the pieces juxtapose simple interlocking
rhythmic devices with layers of electronic effects or
wilder individual expression. The overall effect is
accessible and intriguing, exemplified by the opening
“One Hundred Years Old Rain (The Same River
Twice)” where the serene beauty derived from the
intersections of trumpet and strings is underpinned by
crackling electronics and sounds evocative of dawn in
a rainforest. Elsewhere, Cornelius Dufallo’s violin and
Christopher Tordini’s bass join Lee in a string trio on
“Upon A Fallen Tree”, anchored by a two-note pizzicato
motif while “White Night” comes on like a concerto
for Satoshi Takeishi’s exotic percussion.
Finally on Inner Landscapes we are left with the
cello alone. On his first solo record, Daniel Levin
allows his imagination to run riot over the course of
six improvisations from a brace of live dates captured
during 2009. In the liners Levin describes his intention
that the music be “casual but very determined” and he
fulfills that wish through an impressive focus on
weight, line, dynamics and overall direction. On the
way he invokes all manner of musics with prodigious
skill: jazz, classical, improv, noise, vocal chorus. But
nowhere are the references sustained as he restlessly
pursues an unceasing inner flow, which makes blowby-blow description thankless. Contrasts and jumpcuts abound, with ideas picked up, examined and
discarded in favor of newer routes all within the space
of a few minutes. Some moments stand out in relief: a
passage of plaintive cries pitched against dark grainy
slashes; a litany of multi-layered abrasions; a sequence
of descending chuckles in contrasting registers. But in
practice the six tracks are all of a piece. His technique
is unquestioned and he revels in the physicality of the
instrument. Those with an adventurous streak or
interest in the outer reaches of the cello universe will
find much to savor.
to James Williams’ loping, long-toned tune “Alter Ego”
and Bobby Watson’s boogaloo march “Heckle and
Jeckle”. Chris Pasin, a trumpeter who has recently
emerged again on the scene after decades of obscurity,
brings his distinctive, cliché-free voice to the
proceedings and Brian Patneaude’s tenor sax fills the
hardbop mold admirably. Bassist Mike Lawrence and
Benedict keep the time crisp and exhilarating. A
highlight is a diaphanous, haunting and multi-tempoed
version of Grachan Moncur III’s “Frankenstein”.
For more information, visit smallslive.com and planetarts.org.
Barth is at The Kitano Jul. 1st-2nd with Jerry Bergonzi, Smalls
Jul. 19th and 92nd Street Y Jul. 20th. See Calendar.
UNEARTHED GEM
For more information, visit cimprecords.com, tzadik.com and
cleanfeed-records.com. Lee is at Central Park Summerstage
Jul. 15th-16th, I-Beam Jul. 29th with James Falzone and The
Stone Jul. 30th with William Winant. Levin is at The Stone
Jul. 1st, Downtown Music Gallery Jul. 2nd and Jazz Gallery
Jul. 9th with Matana Roberts. See Calendar.
Flashpoint: NDR Jazz Workshop (April ‘69)
John Surman (Cuneiform)
by Jeff Stockton
Live at Smalls
Bruce Barth Trio
(smallsLIVE)
Eponymous
Michael Benedict &
Bopitude (Planet Arts)
by George Kanzler
Pianist Bruce Barth has been a reliable fixture on the
postbop/hardbop scene in the Big Apple since the
early ‘80s. In the quintet Bopitude, his strong touch
and attack are ideally suited to stand up and be heard
in assertive company. His trio work is rarer and the set
captured at Smalls features him not only as leader but
also as the composer of eight of the nine tracks.
Live at Smalls is extremely well paced and
programmed for a live CD. It begins with the midtempo
“Oh Yes I Will”, almost a warmup displaying Barth’s
fluidity and easy swing. “Sunday” hints at a churchy
6/8 in its flextime opening, then picks up steam as
Barth digs into block chords before settling back into
the melody with hints of waltz-time. On his meditative,
delicately pealing solo on “Yama”, the mood is
enhanced by Rudy Royston’s mallets over Vicente
Archer ’s bass. “Almost Blues”, an AAB blues with an
extended B-section, finds Barth developing lines with
a conviction akin to that of late blues piano master Ray
Bryant. “Peaceful Place” successfully combines ringing
tones with an insistent bass ostinato and earthy twohand chords. “Afternoon in Lleda” features extended
rubato and lyrical solo piano interludes. “Wilsonian
Alto”, a reference to Barth’s frequent collaborator alto
saxophonist Steve Wilson, is proto-funk with sprung
rhythms and deep grooves. Barth sidles into the
melody of “Good Morning Heartache” rubato, his
improvisation flowing out of it. Flexible and sprung
rhythms also animate the closer, “Looking Up”.
Barth’s piano provides a strong chordal anchor for
Michael Benedict & Bopitude. Benedict, unlike some
drummer-leaders, doesn’t loom over the proceedings.
He’s a team player and provides a variety of tempos
and approaches, ie, sticking to brushes throughout
“Joy Spring”, which keep the music fresh. Selections
range from the familiar (“Moanin’”, Dexter Gordon’s
“Cheese Cake” and Kenny Dorham’s “Whistle Stop”)
In 1969 Brit saxist John Surman invited some of his
mates to Germany to tape a TV show for North
German Broadcasting in Hamburg. A mind-blowing
gathering of the cream of British jazz musicians plus
two Austrian guests, Flashpoint (a two-disc DVD/
CD set) serves as an essential historical document as
well as a vital performance, which, aside from the
turtlenecks, hairstyles and black and white
cinematography, is as fresh as last week.
In his informative liner notes, Brian Morton
asserts that Surman and his crew probably learned
much of what they knew from records and since the
first notes we hear are a brief Harry Miller bass
vamp, the LP that quickly comes to mind is
Coltrane’s Africa/Brass. Piano and drums pick up the
rhythm, the horns (led by clarion trumpeter Kenny
Wheeler) take up the cause and Surman sculpts a
particularly burly and rough-hewn solo on soprano.
Three of the five cuts are Surman compositions, but
he tends to give the solo spotlights to his band.
Altoist Mike Osborne is fleet and aggressive on
“Mayflower”. On his own “Puzzle”, Erich
Kleinschuster blows limpid trombone in contrast to
Malcolm Griffiths’ busy, bursting energy that
challenges the structural integrity of his horn. Tenor
Ronnie Scott’s smooth solo gives way to Surman’s
soprano on pianist Fritz Pauer ’s “Gratuliere”, a tune
reminiscent of Coltrane’s version of “Inch Worm”.
The set closes with the title track, commencing
with a raucous overlapping fanfare. Surman’s bari
sits down below and Osborne screeches on top,
Griffiths plunges the bell of his horn like mad and
Pauer pounds the keys with the heels of his hands.
Osborne takes the first solo, even more aggressively
than before. When Alan Skidmore (who had
previously been a revelation on “Once Upon a
Time”) takes over on tenor, looking like Joe
Henderson with his thick moustache and hornrimmed glasses, he builds his story-telling solo to an
ecstatic high before the action falls and dovetails
right into Surman’s energized baritone feature. It’s
the program’s final leap-from-your-chair moment,
some of the best that British jazz had to offer.
Decades later, Surman has left a sterling legacy.
For more information, visit cuneiformrecords.com
15
G L OBE UNITY: TUR KEY
The Hour of the Star
Ivo Perelman Quartet (Leo)
by Stuart Broomer
Istanbul Sessions Ilhan Ersahin (Nublu)
Snow
Mark O’Leary/Senol Küçükyildirim/Murat Çopur/
Can Ömer Oygan (TIB Prod.)
Featuring Eugene Chadbourne
Dead Country (Konnex)
by Tom Greenland
O ne of the Middle East’s largest countries, with a
distinctive folk music tradition employing unusual
rhythms and a unique micro-tonal tuning system,
Turkey has also embraced outside influences such
as jazz. These projects, all recorded in Istanbul in
collaboration with Western artists, suggest the
extent to which creative improvisers have developed
a common language understood across borders.
Nublu proprietor and label head Ilhan Ersahin’s
Istanbul Sessions is the fruit of his frequent trips
there to promote New York artists; in addition to
Swiss trumpeter Erik Truffaz, it includes bassist Alp
Ersonmez, drummer Turgut Alp Bekoglu and
percussionist Izzet Kizil in a set of rocking originals.
Ersahin’s warm, relaxed tenor tone counterpoises
Truffaz’ electronically enhanced growls and
screeches, together delivering slow-moving modal
melodies over the bubbling hand-slaps of Kizil’s
darbuka. Track to track, the album maintains its
momentum, balancing creativity with accessibility.
Snow, which juxtaposes a photograph of cloudcapped Mount Ararat on the cover with a crowded
cityscape on the back, is another example of Middle
East-meets-West, the latter represented by Irish
guitarist Mark O’Leary, the former by trumpeter
Can Ömer Uygan, bassist Murat Çopur and
drummer Senol Küçükyitdirim. Snow opens with
two extended electronic sound collages built around
O’Leary’s slow-moving, delicately crescendoed
intervals, the second achieving an eerie ambiance of
a spelunking expedition. “Ka”, the third cut, waxes
ecstatic by comparison, O’Leary evoking elephantine
cries while Uygan builds long tones of primary
color into emphatic chromatics to sustain a dramatic
climax. The overall effect is like listening to a
rainforest: dense clusters of sound obscured by
thick undergrowth and a canopy overhead.
The black-and-white cover shot of a cowboyhatted guitarist fingering a jackknife to his singlestring diddley-bow evokes a rootsy vibe, but Dead
Country’s eponymous album is more avant-metal
than ‘country’, fired by the triple onslaught of
Sevket Akinci, Umut Çaglar and featured guest
Eugene Chadbourne’s thrashing guitars, Demirhan
Baylan’s snappy electric bass and Kerem Öktem’s
headbanger beats. On “Mole in the Ground”
Chadbourne fingerpicks banjo and croons the
Appalachian ballad in C Major while the Turkish
quartet wails in the parallel harmonic universe of D
minor; on “Sooner or Later” he vents shouted-word
poetry. The collective wall of sound ranges from
jam-rock to free-noise: world music at the local
level.
For more information, visit nublu.net, tibprod.com and
konnex-records.de
Tenor saxist Ivo Perelman has here assembled a group
of rare compatibility, renewing musical relationships
with pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist Joe Morris and
selecting a drummer, Gerald Cleaver, who contributes
mightily to the music’s cohesion. The pieces are all
attributed to the quartet, so the format is free
improvisation, but set within group dialogues of
continuous (and often tremendous) momentum.
While Perelman, like most saxophonists, can
engage the furies, he’s capable of a broad expressive
range, a musician who can construct a compelling
linear narrative while picking up and incorporating
the nuances supplied by his collaborators. The group
here is ideally suited to this, with Morris’ often loping
elastic beat, Shipp’s challenging comping and forceful
solos and Cleaver ’s multi-leveled rhythmic and timbral
commentary. This CD documents the first meeting of
this group, recorded in a studio prior to a trip to Brazil.
A few of the CD’s six explorations particularly
stand out. “Singing the Blues” is a rare flight for
Perelman into a traditional zone. Accompanied here by
just Morris and Cleaver, he picks up on the warmth
and swagger of R&B, mining inherited phrases for an
original perspective. The title track is the centerpiece,
an intense group exploration set within the modal
terms of the classic Coltrane quartet in its last phase.
But this group takes the principle of dialogue further,
building in density and freedom to create a fully
interactive ensemble, form persisting ultimately in the
saxophone lead. The concluding “Whistling in the
Dark” is marked by an intense sense of mystery, at
times fierce group dialogue, at others a vehicle for
Perelman’s tenor to swirl off alone or with sparse
accompaniment by just Cleaver or Morris.
For more information, visit leorecords.com. Perelman is at
The Stone Jul. 1st and Issue Project Room Jul. 13th with
this group. See Calendar.
Bond: The Paris Sessions
Gerald Clayton (Decca-Emarcy)
by Tom Greenland
P ianist
Gerald Clayton is a formidably talented
up-and-comer, raised under the tutelage of a musical
family (his father plays bass, his uncle sax), who has
apprenticed and performed with an impressive roster
of heavyweights to emerge in the latter half of his 20s
with two Grammy nods and the foundation of an
original sound. Bond: The Paris Sessions is his sophomore
release with bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Justin
Brown; like his debut Two-Shade it highlights his strong
writing hand and personal aesthetic, a simultaneous
de- and reconstruction of the jazz tradition.
Traditional elements are evident in his feel for
funk and blues, recalling Horace Silver ’s gutsy style
while his light but highly articulate touch echoes the
classical restraint and open-ended lyricism of Keith
Jarrett. Rhythmically and harmonically, however,
Clayton allies himself with the new breed, employing
through-composed rhythmic structures and semifunctional chord progressions that ‘resolve’ in unusual
ways. Like many hungry young lions, Clayton seems
on a mission here to claim his musical turf, mixing
high concept writing and improvisation with an
undercurrent of soulful, party-down swing.
The original material flows with a fractured,
postmodern logic, supported by Clayton’s remarkable
command of the keyboard, his moods quickly swinging
between assertive declamation and subtle suggestion.
But his originality is most apparent on covers of the
standards “If I Were a Bell” and Jerome Kern’s “All the
Things You Are” and “Nobody Else But Me”, all prime
examples of how an innovative improviser can find
new inspiration in time-tested forms.
For more information, visit emarcy.com. Clayton is at Jazz
Standard Jul. 1st-3rd. See Calendar.
Lark Uprising
(featuring Joe McPhee)
Mikolaj Trzaska
(Multikulti Project)
Blue Chicago Blues
Joe McPhee/
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten
(Not Two)
by Kurt Gottschalk
Saxophone
quartets can be a noisy affair: raucous,
rambunctious and celebratory. Close cousin the clarinet
quartet is a subtler persona, more nuanced and capable
of greater internal dialogue, enough so that Polish
reedman Mikolaj Trzaska was easily able to add the
fifth voice of Joe McPhee to his Ircha clarinet group
without the conversation getting overwhelmed.
McPhee plays a variety of instruments in the reed and
brass families and is smart enough for great sensitivity
in his playing. And while McPhee is given “featured
artist” billing, he’s not the star of the show on Lark
Uprising; one nice thing about the grouping of like
instruments is that it’s the instruments themselves,
and not their players, which take the spotlight. When
one clarinet does push them into the occasional frenzy
and another quickly pulls them back down again, it’s
only the engagement of instruments - and of the
moment at hand - that is heard.
McPhee picks up his saxophone for a fine duo
session with bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten. The
session was recorded in the Norwegian bassist’s former
adopted home of Chicago and is geared, at least
titularly, toward that city’s great blues tradition. The
cry on Blue Chicago Blues is serious and spontaneous,
even shocking at times. McPhee’s simultaneous
playing and moaning on “Requiem for a Broken Heart”
sounds almost Arabic, or at least nowhere near
Maxwell Street. Flaten proves flexible throughout,
even taking an inventive percussive turn on his bass in
“I Love You Too Little Baby”. More than anything,
more than city or mood, the blues is (or once was)
about playing directly from the heart. It’s that sense of
the blues that Flaten and McPhee channel. They’re not
playing 12-bar patterns, but they’re playing the here
and now.
For more information, visit multikulti.com and nottwo.com.
McPhee is at The Stone Jul. 2nd and 12th-13th (both with
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten) and University of the Streets Jul.
6th. See Calendar.
sounds composed. Berne uses recurring thematic
phrases to construct new patterns on “Cornered”, as
Chevillon matches rhythmically with scraped strings,
before settling into a groove. He raps the bass for
percussive resonance, adding texture to Berne’s highwire theme on the concluding “Single Entendre”.
Though perhaps Old in chronology, the startling
clarity and responsiveness of Chevillon and Berne’s
collaboration belies any notion of Unwise.
Old and Unwise
Bruno Chevillon/Tim Berne (Clean Feed)
by Sean Fitzell
F or this live-in-studio date, Tim Berne engages crafty
veteran Bruno Chevillon for a series of improvised
duets. Flinty alto contrasts the bass’ resonant warmth
- but it’s less the instruments than the personalities
behind them that propel the music.
“Crossed Minds” erupts in an introductory blast
of darting alto runs matched by fleet retorts from
Chevillon. Immediate contrast emerges with the
spacious suspended tones of “High/Low”, as Berne
patiently builds a concluding repeated theme.
Chevillon hammers the strings to begin “L’etat
D’incertitude” while Berne’s dissonant overblowing
gradually recedes and he unfurls fluid lines in response
to the bassist’s thrumming. “Au Centre du Corps”
similarly opens with alto howls and fluttering
percussive bowed bass, featuring extended techniques
before rapidly spinning more traditional lines.
The pair consistently asserts acute listening.
Developed from a buzz of prepared strings and crisply
peppered sax, they join in an uneasy consonance of
wavering alto cries and bowed bass on “Quelque
Chose Vacille”. On “Dissimulable”, they converge so
quickly on an ascending-then-descending run that it
For more information, visit cleanfeed-records.com. Berne is
at The Stone Jul. 2nd with John Hébert and Stone Jul.
13th-14th and Cornelia Street Café Jul. 15th with Matt
Mitchell and 30th as a leader. See Calendar.
Pure Imagination
Dave Valentin (HighNote)
by Russ Musto
V ersatile
flutist Dave Valentin’s third outing for
HighNote delivers a solid program, blending smooth,
Latin and straightahead jazz into an intoxicatingly
satisfying cocktail. Joined by his first-rate working
band of longtime musical director and pianist Bill
O’Connell, bassist Ruben Rodriguez, drummer Robby
Ameen and percussionist Richie Flores, the flutist
soars with the ease that comes when playing in a
familiar environment. The underrated O’Connell,
whose three-decade tenure with Valentin has given
him an invaluable insight into his partner ’s musicality,
contributes six original compositions and three hip
arrangements of popular standards that highlight the
leader ’s rhythmic, melodic and tonal strengths.
The opening orchestration of Charlie Chaplin’s
“Smile” immediately identifies Valentin as a compelling
melodicist, lyrically swinging the popular line.
O’Connell’s arrangement draws upon the persistent
rhythmatism of his section mates while his solo
underscores his own harmonic genius. A flute/conga
interlude adds dramatic depth to the piece, which
concludes with percussion-driven intensity. The
pianist’s “Slip and Slide” is a tipico Latin jazz excursion
reminiscent of his Mongo Santamaria days, Valentin
relaxed and soulful, while his pop-oriented “Joy” finds
the flutist playing with overwhelming delight. The
title track, beautifully arranged for the leader ’s alto
flute, is unabashedly romantic in its tone.
The flutist is in a salsafied setting on the uptempo
“Hummingbird” whereas the electric keyboards of
“See Saw” has him floating in a more ethereal
atmosphere. The gentle orchestral sonance of
overdubbed flutes gives “When Sunny Gets Blue” a
heavenly allure and “Cat Man” highlights the band’s
ability to get deep down into the funk without
sacrificing musical sophistication. “Last Minute”
dances the set out in an AfroCuban groove typifying
Valentin’s style, concluding a disc that can only add to
the flutist’s well-deserved popularity.
For more information, visit jazzdepot.com. Valentin is at
Blue Note Jul. 3rd with Conrad Herwig, Orchard Beach
Stage Jul. 17th and Saint Grant’s Tomb Jul. 31st with
NJMH Afro-Cuban All Stars. See Calendar.
Chihiro Yamanaka Trio
featuring Bernard Purdie
CD “Forever Begins”
(Universal/Decca)
Release Party
Chihiro Yamanaka (piano) Trio
featuring
Bernard Purdie (drums)
Thursday, June 30:
The Iridium
8 & 10 pm, $25
theiridium.com
1650 Broadway (51st)
212 582 2121
chihiroyamanaka.com
17
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CANADA DAY: MICHAEL BATES TRIO 9PM
JD Allen, Jeff Davis
CANADA DAY: THE EXPAT ENSEMBLE 10:30PM
Owen Howard, Andrew Rathbun, Dave Smith, Aidan O’Donnell
DAN LOOMIS QUARTET 9PM
Robin Verheyen, Loren Stillman, Jared Schonig
SPOKE 10:30PM
Justin Wood, Andy Hunter, Dan Loomis, Danny Fischer
ERI YAMAMOTO TRIO 8:30PM
Dave Ambrosio, Ikuo Takeuchi
AMRAM & CO 8:30PM
David Amram, Kevin Twigg, John de Witt, Adam Amram
JULIA PATINELLA AND TRIO MATAPENA 8:30PM
Mariel Berger, Diego Obregon
‘AFRO-PERUVIAN SKETCHES’ 10PM
Pedro Rodriguez, Pablo Menares, Hector Morales; Jean Rohe, Host.
THE GLOBAL LIVING ROOM FESTIVAL:
CATARINA DOS SANTOS 8:30PM
Marcos Vigio, Leco Reis, Robert di Pietro
SEBASTIAN CRUZ AND THE CHEAP LANDSCAPE 10PM
Stomu Takeishi, Ted Poor; Jean Rohe, Host.
THE GLOBAL LIVING ROOM FESTIVAL: SHUSMO 8:30PM
Tareq Abboushi, Hector Morales; Jean Rohe, Host.
PETR CANCURA LONESOME QUARTET 10PM
Kirk Knuffke, Garth Stevenson, Robert Dipietro
AMANDA BAISINGER 9PM & 10:30PM
Ryan Scott, Pete Rende, Chris Morrisey, Dave Burnett
ARI HOENIG QUARTET 9PM & 10:30 PM
Gilad Hekselman, Shai Maestro, Orlando Le Fleming
PASCAL NEW FIELD 8:30PM
Pascal Niggenkemper, Robin Verheyen, Scott DuBois, Jeff Davis
NATHANIEL SMITH QUARTET 10PM
Jake Saslow, Sam Minaie, Toru Dodo
WASHINGTON SQUARE WINDS WOODWIND QUINTET 8:30PM
Caryn Freitag, Amy Yamashiro, Elyssa Plotkin, Anna Morris, Casey Cronan
LAINIE COOKE 8:30PM
Onaje Allan Gumbs, Elias Bailey, Matt Wilson
ALAN HAMPTON PRESENTS “THE FAMILY TREE”
FEATURING...ALAN HAMPTON 8:30PM & JOSH MEASE 9:30PM
MARC OSTROW: MUSIC IS SPOKEN HERE 6PM
TIM KUHL’S DOOMSAYER CD RELEASE SHOW 8:30PM
Michael Formanek, Ben Gerstein, Jonathan Goldberger,
Frantz Loriot, Jonathan Moritz
MATT MITCHELL 9PM & 10:30PM
Tim Berne, Oscar Noriega, Mary Halvorson, John Hébert, Tomas Fujiwara
MARIO PAVONE: ARC SUITE MUSIC 9PM & 10:30PM
Tony Malaby, Dave Ballou, Craig Taborn, Michael Pavone, Matt Wilson
SAM TRAPCHAK - PUT TOGETHER FUNNY 8:30PM
Tom Chang, Greg Ward
ERIK DEUTSCH & ALLISON MILLER QUARTET 8:30PM
Marty Ehrlich, Trevor Dunn
PETE MCCANN 8:30pm
John O’Gallagher, Henry Hey, Matt Clohesy, Jordan Perlson
SEBASTIAN NOELLE’S KOAN 8:30PM
Loren Stillman, George Colligan, Thomson Kneeland, Tony Moreno
TOM CHANG QUARTET 8:30PM
Greg Ward, Matt Clohesy, Rob Garcia
CARLO DEROSA’S CROSS-FADE:BRAIN DANCE 9PM & 10:30PM
Mark Shim, Vijay Iyer, Marcus Gilmore
BEN MONDER TRIO 9PM & 10:30PM
Gary Versace, Ted Poor
BOBBY AVEY QUARTET FEATURING MIGUEL ZENON 8:30PM
Miguel Zenon, Thomson Kneeland, Jordan Perlson
KENNETH SALTERS SEXTET 8:30PM
JOONSAM LEE QUARTET 10PM
ANDREW RATHBUN’S IDEA OF NORTH 8:30PM
Nate Radley, Gary Versace, Jay Anderson, Michael Sarin
“MIKE + RUTHY’S FOLK CITY”:THE SILVER HOLLERS 8:30PM
Amy Helm, Elizabeth Mitchell, Daniel Littleton, Byron Isaacs, Ruthy Ungar
NIKOLAJ HESS TRIO 8:30PM
Johannes Weidenmueller, Gregory Hutchinson
MARY HALVORSON QUINTET 9PM & 10:30PM
Jonathan Finlayson, Jon Irabagon, John Hébert, Ches Smith
TIM BERNE TRIO 9PM & 10:30PM
Matt Mitchell, Dan Weiss
JOCELYN MEDINA’S “WE ARE WATER” CD RELEASE SHOW 8:30PM
Chris Ward, Hadar Noiberg, Nir Felder, Chris Tarry, Ziv Ravitz
Klippe/One
Thomas Heberer (NoBusiness)
by Clifford Allen
Tiresias (with Sunny Murray, Michael Bisio)
Louie Belogenis Trio (Porter)
by Jeff Stockton
Brooklyn-based and Cologne-reared trumpeter and
composer Thomas Heberer has been making subtle
waves on the improvisational music scene since the
late ‘80s and been regularly associated with the Dutch
Instant Composers Pool Orchestra since the ‘90s. His
work as a solo artist and as a leader of small groups is
less well known, especially on these shores. That
should change with the chamber trio Clarino, which
joins Heberer with bassist Pascal Niggenkemper and
clarinetist Joachim Badenhorst on nine instant
compositions that use the leader ’s “cookbook” form of
notation. This trio is represented on one of two LPs,
Klippe. The remainder of the set is dedicated to solo
music and titled One.
As Heberer notes in the liners, “cookbook…allows
for the highest amount of freedom on the musicians’
side while incorporating significant structural tools on
the composer ’s side as well. [It] does so by
implementing the idea of instant memory.” Heberer ’s
music for trio is intense and dusky, moving in ways not
necessarily associated with jazz, often parceling out
themes that recall contemporary concert music. It does
not take long for the bright, crackling volleys of
Heberer ’s language to snake out on “Mole”, bouncing
off the pensive, woody walk assembled by
Niggenkemper and Badenhorst. Wound harmonic
pops bounce off of delicate reedy cycles, poles in
between which the trumpeter ’s swagger builds
forward motion. “Insel” pits nasty bass clarinet sputter
and metallic scrawl against muted sashays, the
formidable bowed and knocked masses of
Niggenkemper ’s bass providing stewing support.
Heberer ’s lines evoke classical simplicity only to
fragment it in brash stutters on “Kleiner Bruder”, offset
by what amounts to an oddly precise wander, bass and
bass clarinet glomming together only to act
independently moments later.
One, unlike other albums of Heberer on his own, is
unadorned by electronics as he stretches out on ten
pieces for unaccompanied Bb concert and quarter-tone
trumpet. These tracks are not just gimmicks, but a
concise exploration of what can be done with breath
and instrument in a solo setting. To be sure, there is
nothing of ‘traditional’ trumpet playing here, Heberer
using multiphonics, circular breathing and split tones
to create apolarity between husky lilt and nattering
high-pitched whine on the opening “Bone”. Thin spits
broaden into near-bilious stammer on “Network”,
punctuated by audible inhalations as Heberer occupies
a distinct notch alongside Albert Mangelsdorff and
Axel Dörner. One isn’t an effort to make the trumpet
sound like something else entirely; rather, what
Heberer does is imprint an expanded vocabulary and
imbue it with physical challenges, all the while
retaining (and perhaps even strengthening) a literalist
message. Rising and falling huffs, clarion bugle-calls
and variably-inflected tone rows mesh with buggy
whine and subtonal growl, often ending up woven into
quite beautiful lines.
Klippe/One is a perfect place to get acquainted with
Heberer ’s art and hopefully his recognition on his
own will continue to increase.
In a crowded field of jazz tenor saxists Louie Belogenis
has distinguished himself as an original voice in the
style forged by Albert Ayler and late-period, Aylerinfluenced, John Coltrane. Belogenis has come to this
style honestly, having previously participated in
tributes to these artists organized by his frequent
partner, the late drummer Rashied Ali. On Tiresias,
Belogenis partners with the man who practically
invented avant garde drumming, Sunny Murray, along
with bassist Michael Bisio, to reimagine Ayler ’s
Spiritual Unity trio (in which Murray played).
Murray’s participation is the only thing that
explicitly links the five improvisations here to the
Ayler trio’s masterwork. The single cover is Coltrane’s
“Alabama”, so what this trio is tapping into is the
spaciousness, reflective tempos and extra-sensory
interplay for which Ayler (as well as Coltrane) were
searching. Belogenis, Murray and Bisio aim for a state
of suspended grace and they get it, but what comes
through most clearly in this music is flow. The
improvisations sound seamlessly knit together and
Murray is integral to this process. His rhythms float on
the cymbals but are grounded by a pounding bass
drum and he presents a clinic in touch. Bisio is equally
subtle, drawing sonorous low notes with his bow and
anchoring the tunes with rich and emphatic plucks.
If the touchstone is Ayler, Belogenis’ playing isn’t
as broad, nor his timbre as extreme, but he finds the
correct middle range by positioning himself inside
Murray’s insistent murmur and wrapping his sound
around Bisio’s quietstorm strum. The recording quality
itself enhances the overall sonic effect by accurately
capturing Murray’s now-you-see-him-now-you-don’t
phantom percussion, Bisio’s nuanced tastefulness and
Belogenis’ appropriately strained-yet-forceful tone.
Belogenis pushes the limits of his tenor, but not too
much and the calmness at the center of this music
makes it at once an easy go and a profoundly moving
- almost sublime - listening experience.
For more information, visit nobusinessrecords.com. Heberer
is at The Stone Mondays with Karl Berger. See Calendar.
For more information, visit porterrecords.com. Belogenis is
at University of the Streets Jul. 2nd and The Stone Jul. 5th.
See Calendar.
s e p t e m b e r 4 sun
2pm Coast to Coast Septet featuring NEA Jazz Master
Jimmy Cobb with vocalist Mary Stallings
The Mingus Orchestra conducted by NEA Jazz Master
Gunther Schuller
8pm Sing the Truth: Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves
and Lizz Wright continue the Legacy of Great Women
Vocalists at Tanglewood with all-star band Geri Allen,
Terri Lyne Carrington, James Genus,
Munyungo Jackson and Romero Lubambo
Jimmy Cobb
Mary Stallings
septemb er 2 fri, 8pm
Café on Main
Angelique Kidjo
Robin McKelle Quartet
Michael Kaeshammer Quintet
Robin McKelle
Michael Kaeshammer
s e p t e m b e r 3 sat
2pm Live taping of Judy Carmichael’s
“Jazz Inspired” with host Judy Carmichael
and actress Blythe Danner and special
guests from the worlds of Jazz, Broadway,
or Hollywood to be announced.
8pm A Latin Jazz Tribute to Cachao with
Federico Britos Sextet and John Santos
Sextet as featured in the “American
Masters”/ PBS documentary
“Cachao: Uno Mas”
Dianne Reeves
Lizz Wright
tickets $19 – 77 • one day lawn pass $34
888-266-1200 • tanglewood.org
between lenox and stockbridge, ma
tanglewood jazz café
Judy Carmichael
Blythe Danner
Jazz Café artists include Cedric Henriot, Rebecca Martin, Sarah Manning and
Ulysses Owens, Jr. Writer Bob Blumenthal will interview percussionist John Santos
and NEA Jazz Masters Jimmy Cobb and Gunther Schuller and conduct a session on
jazz vocalists titled “Listen Here.” All are free with a ticket to the main stage event.
NEA Jazz Masters Live is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in
partnership with Arts Midwest, that celebrates the living legends who have made
exceptional contributions to the advancement of jazz.
tanglewood wine & food classic
Federico Britos
John Santos
september 1 – 4 grand tasting saturday, september 3
For details, visit tanglewood.org.
723 7th Ave. 3rd Floor, New York, NY. 10019
212-730-8138 Store Hours: 11-7 Monday-Friday & 11-6 Saturday
Owner: Steve Maxwell Manager: Jess Birch
Steve’s cell: 630-865-6849 Email: [email protected]
Visit us on the web at: www.maxwelldrums.com
NEW YORK'S ONLY TRUE VINTAGE AND CUSTOM DRUM SHOP
Our philosophy for the shop is to create an inviting atmosphere where players and collectors alike can visit and see wonderful vintage and custom drums
and cymbals that you can't find anywhere else; enjoy listening to some jazz vinyl while hanging in the drummer's lounge area of our museum; and
exchange ideas and information with friends. We even have sound proof rooms for testing cymbals, drum sets and snare drums. Our sets, snares and
cymbals are set up and ready for you to play. We believe in the highest level of personal, professional service and we have the experience you need when
considering vintage and custom drums and cymbals. Call Steve on his cell anytime, or email him at [email protected]. He wants to hear from you.
Our shop includes:
• Craviotto: World’s largest selection of Craviotto one-ply snares and drum sets. We are the largest Craviotto dealer in the world.
• Vintage: Extensive inventory of high end vintage snare drums, sets and cymbals. We have vintage Gretsch, Rogers, Slingerland, Ludwig, Leedy, Camco and more!
• Player’s Specials: Snares, sets and cymbals focused on the needs of players • Gretsch: USA Custom drums in bebop sizes made famous by the 60s era jazz greats
• Leedy: Our Leedy USA Custom Shop drums will debut in NYC later this year • Ludwig: specializing in the USA-built Legacy series
• George Way: We are your source for Ronn Dunnett’s great new George Way snares • Maxwell: Our Maxwell line of custom drums includes small bebop sets and more.
• Heads, hardware, sticks, bags and more
Cymbals: We have Istanbul, Bosphorus, Zildjian, Old As, Old Ks, Spizzichino, Sabian, Paiste, Dream and more! New and vintage cymbals galore.
Stop in and see our museum section with original sets, snares and cymbals owned by Elvin, Buddy, Krupa, Mel Lewis, Kenny Clarke, Louie Bellson and many more!
Recording Studio Support:
Enormous selection of vintage and custom drums to suit the needs of any recording studio looking for that special, unique sound. Need that “vintage” drum or cymbal sound?
Come see us. We have what you need. Need a versatile but unique custom drum sound? We have that as well with our Craviotto solid shell drums. None finer in the world.
NYC DRUMMERS, WE HAVE DRUM SET PRACTICE. SPACE AVAILABLE FOR RENT ON AN HOURLY BASIS.
CALL JESS AT 212-730-8138 FOR DETAILS. TEACHING STUDIO IS OPEN
Good Eats (Tribute to Lou Donaldson)
Mark Rapp’s Melting Pot (Dinemec)
by Alex Henderson
Interesting and memorable jazz tribute albums are not
about
knee-jerk
emulation;
they
are
about
interpretation. And trumpeter Mark Rapp does a lot of
interpreting on Good Eats, which pays tribute to Lou
Donaldson - a fine alto saxophonist who started out as
a Charlie Parker disciple before evolving into a funky,
groove-minded, R&B-influenced contributor to soul
jazz. This album includes six Donaldson compositions,
songs that Donaldson had in his repertoire but didn’t
write (including William J. Hill’s “The Glory of Love”
and Quincy Jones’ theme from the ‘70s sitcom Sanford
and Son) as well as Rapp’s boogaloo-ish title track.
Good Eats differs from Donaldson’s output in a
number of ways. First, there is no alto sax (Don Braden
plays tenor sax or alto flute on some of the selections)
and half of the tracks don’t contain any saxophone at
all. Second, organist Joe Kaplowitz brings some Larry
Young influence to the table (instead of the more
typical Jimmy Smith type of approach). And then there
is Rapp’s playing; instead of the expected big, fat tone
of a Lee Morgan, Woody Shaw or Freddie Hubbard,
Rapp adds a Miles Davis-influenced aesthetic to
“Elizabeth”, “Pot Belly” and other Donaldson tunes.
Good Eats is relevant to soul jazz, but also postbop
and fusion. And while Rapp’s arrangements of
“Brother Soul”, “Elizabeth”, “Spaceman Twist” and
“Alligator Boogaloo” aren’t ultra-cerebral, they are
certainly more so than Donaldson’s original versions.
With its healthy balance of intellect and grooveoriented accessibility, Good Eats is a consistently
intriguing celebration of Donaldson’s legacy.
For more information, visit markrapp.com. Lou Donaldson
is at Birdland Jul. 5th-9th. See Calendar.
Dark Lights
Alex Hoffman (Smalls)
by Tom Conrad
Alex Hoffman’s tenor saxophone enters Dark Lights’
opening track, “Night Jaunt”, with a clarion, optimistic
announcement that comes from an earlier, more
trusting milieu than our own. The little big band
around him sounds so suave we might be listening to a
Tadd Dameron octet recording from the ‘50s. But the
sound is too good. And the liner notes say that Hoffman
came to New York to go to college only six years ago.
Dark Lights is Hoffman’s debut as a leader and just
his third time on record. It is unusual. Hoffman is a
young player deeply rooted in the original language of
bop. It is ambitious. All the tunes are Hoffman originals
arranged for nonet. It is impressive. Hoffman has
internalized much musical history and speaks bop
fluently, with passion and new millennium inflections.
He is an exciting soloist because he always sounds like
he is being pushed hard from within by his need to
communicate. His tunes are complete concepts and his
charts are clean, with precisely intersecting parts and
graceful movements. The only disappointment is that
Hoffman does not fully exploit the resources of the
nonet format. The additional horns are used mostly for
weight in the theme statements. Essentially only three
players solo: Hoffman, trumpeter Dwayne Clemons
and pianist Sacha Perry.
Those solos are the raison d’être for Dark Lights.
Hoffman continuously unleashes improvisations like
the one on “Evil Eye”: extended, detailed, complex,
finished statements. Clemons is a revelation. His
trumpet sound is tart and confrontational and every
solo is a tipping, teetering adventure that resolves in
victorious declamations. On “Celeste’s Swing” and
“Fragment”, he could be a respected peer of Howard
McGhee and Kenny Dorham, transported to our time.
As for Perry, drawing on forebears like Monk and
Frank Hewitt, he sounds only like himself. Usually he
careens ambiguously sideways, deadpan and ironic,
like on “Hurricane Sacha”. Sometimes, like on “Evil
Eye”, he spurts and lurches and uncovers chiming
internal melodies.
driving rhythms all careening up against each other.
The variety of compositional structures on display
across this disc are impressive and the energy with
which the musicians bring these works to life is eargrabbing. Having each found their way to the Bay Area
from disparate locales, they have created a cohesive
band with a sense of teamwork and a love of innovation
and tradition, both shared and personal. The band
functions so well as a unit because it is made up of
individuals enjoying each other ’s ideas and discoveries.
For more information, visit cleanfeed-records.com. This
group is at Barbès Jul. 6th, Douglass Street Music Collective
Jul. 9th and The Stone Jul. 10th. See Calendar.
For more information, visit smallsrecords.com. Hoffman is at
Smalls Jul. 5th and 19th, Fat Cat Jul. 9th and 17th and The
Garage Jul. 26th. See Calendar.
VVjuly11
Cylinder
Darren Johnston/Aram Shelton/Lisa Mezzacappa/
Kjell Nordeson (Clean Feed)
by Wilbur MacKenzie
Cylinder is a collective quartet based in San Francisco,
with an ensemble dynamic that echoes Ornette
Coleman’s classic quartet without foregoing each
individual’s unique voice as an instrumentalist and
composer. The four musicians each come from
disparate locations in the US and Sweden and each
brings to the ensemble an eclectic background of
musical vocabularies.
The challenge with a record by four leaders who
all compose for the band is to create a sound that both
represents the distinct characters of the composer/
performers, but also puts forth a general consensus of
creative direction. Saxophonist/clarinetist Aram
Shelton’s history with Chicago inevitably leads a
listener to draw comparisons between the Association
for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and
Shelton’s colorful and spacious composition style,
with “Four Thoughts” and “Skipped Rocks” both
offering an enchanting blend of abstraction, freedom
and lyricism. Drummer Kjell Nordeson sounds
amazing on the latter and the Swede’s own
compositions are beautiful, “Shells” brimming with
energy and drive and “Sung By Dogs” mixing melodic
intrigue with some great extended techniques from
trumpeter Darren Johnston.
Johnston’s compositions probably most directly
call to mind Ornette Coleman’s unlikely melodic
structures, with the themes of “The Ear That Was Sold
To a Fish” and “Sink Town” floating over a propulsive
rhythm. Bassist Lisa Mezzacappa’s prodigious
technique lends the ensemble firm footing and a
flexible poise that enables fluidity of motion. Both her
arco and pizzicato playing are buoyant, assured and
consistently engaging. Her “The Deep Disciplines”
sets up a variety of ensemble shapes in the composed
sections, with sharp unisons, wobbling trills and
6/16/11
2:12 PM
Page 1
THE VILLAGE
VANGUARD
www.villagevanguard.com
� JUNE 28TH - JULY 3RD �
RENEE ROSNES
QUARTET
RICH PERRY - PETER WASHINGTON - LEWIS NASH
� JULY 5TH - JULY 10TH �
THE
HEATH BROTHERS
JIMMY HEATH - ALBERT “TOOTIE” HEATH
JEB PATTON - DAVID WONG
SAM YAHEL
TRIO
MATT PENMAN - JOCHEN RUECKERT
FRED HERSCH
TRIO
JOHN HÉBERT - ERIC McPHERSON
� JULY 26TH - JULY 31ST �
PAUL MOTIAN
SEPTET
CHRIS CHEEK - BILL McHENRY - STEVE CARDENAS
MAT MANERI - JACOB SACKS - THOMAS MORGAN
� COMING IN AUGUST �
BARRY HARRIS TRIO - GREG OSBY
JENNY SCHEINMAN - JD ALLEN
MONDAY NIGHTS ARE RESERVED FOR
THE VANGUARD JAZZ ORCHESTRA
MONDAY THRU SUNDAY
9PM & 11PM
S T E I N W AY & S O N S
7TH AVE. SOUTH AT 11TH STREET 212-255-4037
The Age of Carbon
Elliott Sharp (Intakt)
by Ken Waxman
F rom 1984-91 guitarist Elliott Sharp stood the
conventions of rock, improv and notated music on
their heads with his percussion-heavy Carbon band.
Using overdubs to add greater density to the match of
his double-neck guitar and reeds with at least three
percussionists, plus brass players, an electric harpist
and sampler exponents, he created a sound that was
uniquely audacious. Listening to the 49 tracks, which last from 31
seconds to more than 18 minutes, on this three-CD
retrospective, the suspicion remains that the band’s
salad days were at its beginnings. Certainly the early
arrangements,
which
encompass
polyrhythmic
positions from each of three drummers (Mark Miller,
Charles K. Noyes and David Linton), introduce a
refreshing variety to the lengthier tunes. But by the
‘90s, when Joseph Trump and Samm Bennett were
more often behind the kit, the relentless thumping
could easily have been transferred onto any strippeddown pop-rock session of the day without disruption.
Other players’ contributions make a difference
however. “Singularly” on Disc 3, for instance, manages
to be both abstract and authoritative in a sparse setup
when drummer Bobby Previte’s paradiddles and
thumps intensify Sharp’s power-chording.
The early Carbon was also more daring, as Sharp
utilized his reeds almost as frequently as his guitar.
Echoing riffs from overdubbed horns mix with strident
guitar licks on a tune such as “Iso”, even while the
hefty beats from the live drummers separate and unite
throughout. Inspired by fractal geometry, “SelfSquared Dragon” finds Sharp’s fuzz tones and reverb
extended with banjo-like fills and bass-string buzzes in
a stop-time extravaganza enlivened by brays from Jim
Staley’s trombone. Staley and Ken Heer on trombones,
tubaist Dave Hofstra and additional percussionists
also help define the multi-part “Sili/Contemp/Tation”,
recorded live at The Kitchen. As the percussionists
bang away in different tempos, Hofstra’s pedal-point
blasts provide the continuum while Sharp’s trebly
guitar distortion slowly moves up the scale. The
interjection of glottal stops from the brass keeps the
percussion backbeat from overwhelming the narrative.
With Carbon later on adopting repetitive organlike lines from a sampler/keyboardist, stylized guitar
riffs and seemingly inexhaustible multiple percussion
beats, other memorable tracks stay far away from rocklike replication by introducing novel concepts. For
example, “Not-Yet-Time”, a score to a dance piece from
1985, uses electronic distortions to mold and color the
underlying theme. While the drummers’ shuffles are
still dense, they’re lightened by mulched textures from
the overdubbed reeds, as well as Sharp’s distinct
finger-styled runs. With the use of a graphic score and
instruction sets, “Jump Cut”, from 1990, shows another
path the band could have followed. Percussive clipclops and what sounds like hammering on a thunder
sheet are balanced by a sluicing electric bass solo, a
wash of keyboard harmonies and guitar pyrotechnics.
The tracks on The Age of Carbon can be split in half.
Many are admirable enough to stand up to repeated
listening. However a high majority of the others relate
so clearly to the big beat-obsessed musical ideas of
their time that carbon dating wouldn’t be necessary to
situate them historically.
For more information, visit intaktrec.ch. Sharp is at The
Stone Jul. 7th in duo with Mary Halvorson. See Calendar.
Voice of My Beautiful Country
René Marie (Motéma Music)
by Joel Roberts
René Marie didn’t begin singing professionally until
she was past 40. But she’s certainly made up for lost
time over the past decade and a half, establishing
herself as one of the music’s premier vocalists with a
sensuous style that mixes blues, soul and gospel with a
strong respect for the jazz tradition. She’s also an
actress and activist and, in the tradition of Nina Simone
and Abbey Lincoln, a jazz singer who directly addresses
social issues in her music.
Her latest release is one of her best yet, a deeply
personal and thoughtful exploration of the many
colors of American music. The set list is one of the most
diverse and seemingly mismatched you’re likely to
see, ranging from Tin Pan Alley (Jimmy Van Heusen’s
“Imagination”) to Motown (The Temptations’ “Just My
Imagination”) and from 19th century folk music (“Oh
Shenandoah”) to ‘60s acid rock (The Jefferson
Airplane’s “White Rabbit”). But Marie, joined by her
longtime trio (pianist Kevin Bales, bassist Rodney
Jordan and drummer Quentin Baxter), reworks and
reimagines these tunes, making each one entirely her
own and finding the common thread that makes them
all part of the American fabric.
The album’s focal point is the title suite, a rousing
and soulful reading of the patriotic standards “America
the Beautiful” and “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”, along
with her highly original version of the national anthem,
which features the lyrics of the spiritual “Lift Every
Voice and Sing” (long known as the “Black National
Anthem”) set to the melody of “The Star Spangled
Banner”. Marie created a stir when she sang this
arrangement at a Denver civic event three years ago,
but this simple, yet powerful musical statement
certainly gets its message across. It’s a fitting and
dramatic conclusion to one of the most ambitious and
successful jazz albums of the year.
For more information, visit motema.com. Marie is at Jazz
Standard Jul. 7th-10th. See Calendar.
21
Lines of Oppression
Ari Hoenig (Naive)
by Elliott Simon
N ot to say that drummer Ari Hoenig needed a change
but in a move that is perhaps more reflective of
maturity and experience than it is of musical direction,
Lines of Oppression is squarely about the band. During
the past 10 years Hoenig has showcased his unmatched
polyrhythmic mastery and uncanny ability to coax
melody out of his drumset. In the process, he has
become one of NYC’s top drummers. Here both pianist
Tigran Hamasyan and guitarist Gilad Hekselman as
well as bassists Orlando Le Fleming and Chris Tordini
combine for a very entertaining group effort.
Like Hoenig, both Hekselman and Hamasyan are
striking in their virtuosity, making the group ethos all
the more refreshing. The session could easily have
devolved into a showcase of solos but while the licks
and chops are present, the groove is melodic and often
times downright pretty. The opening title track, with
its repetitive hook and 11-minute length, is a custommade forum for Hekselman. He excels with piercingly
complex electric runs but the band never loses sight of
the tune. A middle diversion led by Hamasyan’s offcenter interpretation of the melody solidifies as much
as it charts a new direction.
Many of the remaining songs are similarly
constructed. The frenetic “Arrows and Loops”, with its
hints of Eastern Europe, has Hamasyan dancing with
speed and precision without sacrificing composition
before the band coheres, both instrumentally and
vocally, around the delicately lovely theme of
“Wedding Song”. The requisite forum for Hoenig’s
drum-singing technique is the Jazz Messengers’
“Moanin”, which evolves into a nicely-put-together
vehicle for group improv before the band congeals
around the eerie motif of “Loves Feathered Nails”.
Things close with an interesting juxtaposition of the
standard “How High the Moon” and the original
“Higher to Hayastan” for a rocking redux tribute to
some Armenian roots.
It remains to be seen if this is a step in a new
direction or a pause along the way but Lines of
Oppression is Hoenig’s strongest statement of
leadership yet.
For more information, visit naive.fr. Hoenig is at Smalls
Jul. 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th and Cornelia Street Café Jul.
9th. See Calendar.
The Music of Horace Silver
Yves Brouqui +3 (Elabeth)
by Francie Scanlon
After a quarter-century as a professional musician,
French guitarist Yves Brouqui has arrived - big-time!
Since his initial time in New York in the early ‘90s,
spent ensconced in the Smalls scene, Brouqui has toiled
with the likes of Grant Stewart, Spike Wilner, Jim
Rotondi, Bobby Durham and Eric Alexander as well as
a number of important French musicians. His new
recording, The Music of Horace Silver, with countrymen
pianist Laurent Courthaliac and bassist Matthias
Allamane, along with New York drummer Joe Strasser,
heralds a very significant benchmark in his
development as a musician and composer.
A golden homage to legendary pianist/composer
Horace Silver, a prolific leader and important sideman
with such players as Art Blakey, Miles Davis and Hank
Mobley, Brouqui’s synergistic quartet accomplishes
Silver ’s command from his autobiography Let’s Get to
the Nitty Gritty: “Do your thing with it. Keep the music
alive, pure and progressive.” The spirit of Silver is
thoroughly present in the glorious melodic sweeps and
rhythms channeled by Brouqui’s group, almost as
good as any in which Silver participated from the mid
‘50s-late ‘60s.
Brouqui’s debut as a leader for Elabeth Records
resoundingly echoes the vibe of Silver ’s quintet when
it played the streets of New York in the early days of
the late Dr. Billy Taylor ’s Jazzmobile flat-bed truck and
Slugs in East Village.
In addition to presenting two original works “Love Walk” and “I Remember Dan” - Brouqui
skillfully avoids the temptation of retransmitting some
of Silver ’s most famous pieces and instead masterfully
interprets and advances the reach of lesser-known
works such as “Horacescope”, “Yeah” and “Sweet
Stuff”. No mere imitation - though quite flattering to
Silver - it’s an interpretative, stylized and unabashedly
glamorous journey of dazzling solos and harmonious
rhythms.
For more information, visit elabeth.com. A Horace Silver
tribute is at Smoke Jul. 8th-9th. See Calendar.
The Throes
Nate Wooley/Taylor Ho
Bynum (CIMP)
High Society
Nate Wooley/Peter Evans
(Carrier)
by Robert Iannapollo
W e are fortunate to be living in an era with several
young, accomplished improvising trumpeters ready to
assert their voices in the future history of the
instrument. Three are featured in this review: Nate
Wooley, Taylor Ho Bynum and Peter Evans.
Although very different from each other, they
have several things in common: they are each strong
technical players; each are willing to experiment and
take risks and have derived inspiration, not only from
the obvious trumpet sources (Armstrong, the
Ellingtonians and the bop technicians) but also from
innovators like Bill Dixon, Wadada Leo Smith and Paul
Smoker. And they collaborate with fellow trumpeters.
Wooley and Bynum are willing to the point of
forming a group and writing compositions for the
band. The Throes was recorded after almost two years
of performing together. The rhythm sectioneers of
bassist Ken Filiano and drummer Tomas Fujiwara were
unfamiliar with each other when the group started but
here they work in tandem to support, prod and drive
the co-leaders. It’s easy to tell Wooley from Bynum
since the latter is playing cornet throughout and they
blend the two horns nicely when playing
simultaneously. The program consists of two pieces by
Wooley, two by Bynum and one each from Filiano and
Fujiwara. Wooley’s two contributions include a smartly
bopping piece of West Coast-influenced cool, “Face To
The Sun”, and the concluding slow, beautiful exercise
in tonal distortion, ”Back To My Steel”. The
compositions are separated by improvised duets from
various members of the group. The Throes is an excellent
blend of both the accessible and adventurous approach
to contemporary jazz and it’s a good disc to check out
the varied styles of two of the best trumpeters playing
today.
And then there’s the duo of Wooley with Peter
Evans. Wooley has intrepidly explored more hardedged areas: the two Blue Collar discs with Steve Swell
and Tatsuya Nakatani and the Silo disc on Utech are
good examples. And he uses electronics in his setup,
most notably in his duets with British drummer Paul
Lytton. Evans, while a game free improviser, is less
inclined toward electronics. But on High Society, the
two plug into guitar amps and blow and blow hard
and they don’t let up. High Society is all about extended
technique, breath, vocalization, feedback, the
percussive popping of valves and any alien sound the
instrument can make. While the music is aggressive,
assaultive at times, there are also moments of
variegation. “I” seems to be the most succinct piece
with its boiling tea kettle opening, extended wall of
sound feedback and subsonic, pulsing conclusion.
While there are precedents of this style of playing in
Wooley’s discography, Evans’ fans from albums might
be a bit startled by this approach at first. Most people
will probably be dismissive but it’s really quite a
brilliant display of trumpetronics by two players who
seem to be enjoying the hell out of performing it.
For more information, visit cimprecords.com and
carrierrecords.com. Wooley is at The Stone Jul. 12th and
15th with Adam Lane and as a leader, Clemente Soto Velez
Jul. 18th and I-Beam Jul. 29th and Café Orwell Jul. 30th,
both with James Falzone. See Calendar.
23
Power Play
Ralph Bowen
(Posi-Tone)
All Wrapped Up
Jared Gold
(Posi-Tone)
by Ken Dryden
W hile
many of his Posi-Tone labelmates are young
lions and lionesses, saxist Ralph Bowen has made his
mark since arriving on the New York City jazz scene in
the late ‘80s. He has recorded with Benny Carter,
Horace Silver, Ralph Peterson, Jr., Michel Camilo,
Steve Wilson and Anthony Branker, to name just a few.
Power Play is Bowen’s seventh CD as a leader and
he’s joined by a strong rhythm section consisting of
pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Kenny Davis and drummer
Donald Edwards. Bowen’s big toned tenor is the
centerpiece of his brisk hardbop vehicle “K. D.’s Blues”
as he gradually moves from building upon the initial
riff to a rapid-fire run introducing Evans’ more
conventional (but no less powerful) solo. “The Good
Shepherd” initially sounds like an Irish jig recast in a
postbop setting, though it quickly evolves into a wild
exploration by Bowen with Evans sitting out as Davis
and Edwards fuel the leader ’s fire. The infectious
“Drumheller Valley” is constructed upon a simple riff,
though this driving work quickly builds steam into a
powerful performance by the quartet. Bowen switches
to soprano for his soft ballad “Jessica” and the
bittersweet “A Solar Romance”. The sole standard is a
deliberate, elegant arrangement of “My One and Only
Love” that showcases Bowen’s lyricism.
Organist Jared Gold has made great strides during
his brief career as a leader. For All Wrapped Up, his
fourth Posi-Tone CD, he recruited Bowen, trumpeter
Jim Rotondi and drummer Quincy Davis, all seasoned,
in-demand musicians. Gold’s approach to organ is
fresh, drawing from earlier greats but building upon
their foundation to develop his own distinctive style.
He composed several originals for this date, including
the turbocharged “My Sentiments Exactly”, a piece full
of twists that energizes the players. With a title like
“Get Out of My Sandbox”, it’s expected that a song
will have a bit of humor and this funky off-center
composition doesn’t disappoint. “Just a Suggestion” is
equally funk-filled, with tight unison lines and
Bowen’s hip tenor sax in the spotlight. Each of the
sidemen contributed an original as well: Davis
composed the harmonically rich “Piece of Mine”;
Rotondi’s slow, sorrowful “Dark Blue” has a lonely air
and Bowen’s “Midnight Snack” is a surging, freespirited affair.
For more information, visit posi-tone.com. Bowen is at Zinc Bar
Jul. 13th with Orrin Evans and Smalls Jul. 28th. See Calendar.
The Way We Were (Live in Concert)
Etta Jones & Houston Person (HighNote)
by Andrew Vélez
W hat
is immediately and most striking about this
set’s opener, “Do Nothin’ ‘Till You Hear From Me”, is
how Houston Person’s hot tenor saxophone recalls the
voice of his late, longtime musical partner, vocalist
Etta Jones. That honking furnace heat continues
through three more hot instrumentals, providing a
lead-up to a series of vocals by Jones. On that Ellington
classic and throughout, pianist Stan Hope delivers
swinging accompaniment and prime solos.
Jones, a veteran R&B singer with nonpareil blues
and jazz skills, recorded this set live about a year and a
half before she passed in 2001. Jones’ delivery of “Fine
and Mellow” is a salute to one of her mentors, Billie
Holiday. What’s evident is how she shared a blues feel
and a way of twisting notes with Holiday that is as
distinctive as it is satisfying. Jones also had a great
sense of humor, clear when she ends the tune with a
brief 12-bar imitation of Lady Day. As an homage it is
as witty as it is spot-on.
Together she and Hope transform “I Could Have
Danced All Night”. She stretches and honks the notes
of “danced and danced and danced”. Nothing is ever
just a throwaway with these pros. Even with a bit of
fluff like “Ma, He’s Makin’ Eyes At Me”, she and
Person give a shout-out performance that transforms it
into a rocking interlude.
The closest Jones ever came to having a hit record
was in 1960 with her version of “Don’t Go To Strangers”
(from the Prestige album of the same name). On this
recording it’s an even more stripped down version of
this Redd Evans/Arthur Kent/Dave Mann blues. A
powerhouse rendition by a great singer, she inhabits
the song in a way that speaks in no-frills style to
decades of singing and living by a deep soul.
For more information, visit jazzdepot.com. Person is at
Grant’s Tomb Jul. 13th as part of Jazzmobile, Jazz Standard
Jul. 14th-17th and 92nd Street Y Jul. 19th. See Calendar.
Lollipopocalypse
Sam Trapchak’s Put Together Funny (s/r)
by Terrell Holmes
With
a band named Put Together Funny and a CD
entitled Lollipopocalypse, one might expect a roster of
whimsical and off-the-scale tunes with satire at their
core. This band, however, under the leadership of
bassist Sam Trapchak, mostly plays splendid jazz
tracks spiced with rock and R&B influences.
Guitarist Tom Chang and alto saxophonist Greg
Ward open the call-and-response-inspired “Different
Dance”. It begins as a tender two-step and gains
momentum when the leader steps in with a swinging
pizzicato. Ward expands his ideas in fits and starts but
once he finds an idea to cling to, he blows wonderfully.
On the rock/R&B amalgam “On the Cusp of Cancer”
Chang drops the gloves and lets loose with atavistically
distorted, burning licks over drummer Arthur Vint’s
thrashing. Vint is also the support, with sticks on rims,
as Trapchak puts down some funky pizzicato and Ward
gets the last word, remonstrating in the upper register
as the song crescendos. Ward and Chang also shine on
the unconventional “Tongue and Groove”.
This group has a surprising and pleasant touch on
straightahead jazz. Ward plays flawlessly along the
melody of “Long Live/Less Say”, with Chang adding
lush notes with softer edges. Lilting guitar gives the
lovely “Losing You” an Ellingtonian dreaminess.
Trapchak plays with a subtlety just above ear level
here and shows a fully developed and sophisticated
rhythmic sense on “Precious Few”.
The title track has the promise of energy and
eccentricity that the band name seemed to suggest.
After the quintet throws a melodic head fake in the
song’s first half, a guttural rumble, then full-blown
shout, by Chang takes the tune into second gear.
Trapchak and company morph into an unbridled
garage band: Chang blares his chords, Ward screams at
the top of his lungs and delightful chaos ensues. This
song defines what Put Together Funny is all about: jazz
played with a rock and roll heart and a free sensibility,
down to the last notes.
For more information, visit samtrapchak.com. This group is
at Cornelia Street Café Jul. 17th. See Calendar.
AMANDA
MONACO 3
WITH
MICHAEL ATTIAS
SEAN CONLY
TOMI JAZZ
July 5th
9 & 10:30PM $10
239 East 53rd Street
AMANDAMONACO.COM
Lou’s Idea
Louis Hayes
(American Showplace)
Live at Smalls
Jazz Incorporated
(smallsLIVE)
by Marcia Hillman
Drummer Louis Hayes keeps on going and never
skips a beat. This is clearly demonstrated by two new
releases – each one with a different personnel lineup
and material. The drummer, known for his work
through the years with his Cannonball Legacy Band
and various quintets under his name (as well as
working with just about everybody along the way),
has found some new playmates here.
Lou’s Idea by the Louis Hayes Jazz Communicators
(the group title taken from a group Hayes put together
in 1965 which was “Lou’s idea”) finds Hayes joined by
Mulgrew Miller (piano), Santi Debriano (bass), Steve
Nelson (vibes) and Abraham Burton (saxophone). The
choice of material covers a wide range - all the way
from commercial pop (Bacharach/David’s “Say A
Little Prayer”) to a jazz standard such as Cedar
Walton’s
“Bolivia”,
which
contains
rousing
performances by all. Hayes’ talent for listening to the
other instrumentalists stands out on this CD, especially
on McCoy Tyner ’s “Just Feeling”, where he engages in
musical conversation with Miller. There are a number
of highlights to check out - Nelson and Burton
sounding very soulful and Debriano’s arco work on
Mal Waldron’s “Soul Eyes”; Miller ’s interpretation of
“Bolivia” and an energetic piece of drumwork by
Hayes on “Same Page” (an original by Debriano). Also
there is a short and a long version of the song “I Have
Nothing Better To Do” (originally sung by Carmen
McRae and dedicated to her). The long version features
some heartfelt piano by Miller.
The Jazz Incorporated CD was recorded live at
Smalls Jazz Club in August 2010 by a group with
Hayes, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, pianist Anthony Wonsey
and bassist Dezron Douglas. The selection of material
is a mix of two originals (one each by Pelt and Wonsey),
songs by Duke Pearson, Art Farmer, Dizzy Gillespie
and one out of the Rodgers-Hammerstein songbook.
Starting off with Farmer ’s “Punsu” done uptempo, a
slow version of Pearson’s “Is That So?” is next,
featuring a conversational reading by Pelt and
Wonsey’s stunning piano runs covering the whole of
the keyboard. Gillespie’s “Woody ‘N You” is a standout
with searing trumpet, piano acrobatics, pulsing bass
and Hayes playing the melody on the drums during
his featured spot. “We Kiss In The Shadows” (from The
King And I) shows off Pelt’s softer side and provides a
nice change of pace. The closer, “Shout!” (Pelt’s
original) is a blues where everyone is at his peak - the
composer ’s trumpet is hot and sultry, Wonsey’s piano
is smoking, Douglas’ bass rocks and Hayes continues
to be masterful.
Hayes has been quoted as saying that the drummer
is the “engine playing through everything.” The engine
is running smoothly on both of these albums and the
listening is good, so enjoy!
notes - but it is Berger ’s commitment to them and his
meticulous integration of them into a larger piece that
throws them into striking relief.
“Miniature 8” finds the pianist running down an
unfurling melodic line that keeps burbling up and over
expected resting points. The selection - perhaps more
than any other - is a striking distillation of Berger ’s
method as a composer and performer. The measured,
but unpredictably meandering, melody is featured
with the bare minimum of left-hand accompaniment,
pausing in mid-stride before blooming once again,
only to halt on an unexpected note of consonance. The
performance sounds more spontaneous the further you
get into it until the subtlest of themes reappears and a
crystalline structure emerges right before a whispered
ending.
In addition to Berger ’s mastery as both a composer
and pianist, a great deal of credit to the success of this
album has to go to recording engineer and sound
editor Ted Orr - a former student of Berger ’s at his
famous Creative Music Studio in the late ‘70s and a
great musician in his own right - who manages to
capture every nuance of Berger ’s sound in a remarkably
balanced and full recording. Recorded over two nights
at the Kleinert/James Gallery in Berger ’s longtime
home of Woodstock, NY on a gorgeously resonant
Steinway, the audio quality is stunning.
Spurred on, no doubt, by these felicitous factors
and his own limitless imagination as both a composer
and a performer, Berger has succeeded in producing a
remarkable album. Strangely Familiar quietly demands
an engaged listener, but it also richly rewards it in a
way that only the best creative music can.
For more information, visit americanshowplacemusic.com
and smallslive.com. Hayes is at Birdland Jul. 19th-23rd. See
Calendar.
For more information, visit tzadik.com. Berger is at The
Stone Mondays. See Calendar.
Strangely Familiar (17 Miniatures for Piano Solo)
Karl Berger (Tzadik)
by Matthew Miller
“These days we live under the accelerating spell of
being short on time, not having time, having to find
time, making time,” writes Karl Berger in the notes to
this masterful performance of 17 miniature piano
compositions. “So, please, hold that space for a
moment. Just relax and listen. Let yourself go there find your Music Mind.”
Berger ’s invitation to enter what he describes as
“a rare, quiet, natural state” where a listener can not
only appreciate, but actually “participate in the spaces
where I’m not playing”, is impossible to refuse from
the opening notes of “Miniature 1”, an elegiac and
startlingly beautiful exploration of melody through a
shifting landscape of rhythmic and harmonic color.
Berger ’s insistent right hand keeps the focus on the
thematic line while he continually recontextualizes
with light bass notes and tone clusters from the left,
skirting the boundaries of traditional harmony and
fixed tempo, but never getting in the way of the listener
filling in the blanks.
Berger ’s remarkable ability to blend spontaneous
ideas into an intricate, but nearly always diaphanous,
musical structure is what makes Strangely Familiar
such an engaging listen. The melodies throughout the
performances sound almost familiar in their utter
simplicity and directness - “They are simply statements
that want to happen,” the composer explains in his
25
If one sound in bassist Pedro Giraudo’s music stands
out the most, it is that of Tony De Vivo’s cajón.
Somehow this box percussion instrument cuts through
the rambunctious reeds and brass of Giraudo’s 12-piece
ensemble, rooting the music in South American soil
but never weighing it down. All the while, Giraudo, a
New Yorker since 1996, conjures rhythms and colors of
intricate design, fronting a lineup that has remained
remarkably steady over the years. His latest CD,
Córdoba, is the best to date: eight compositions forming
a symphony of sorts with four winds, two trumpets,
two trombones and rhythm (including drummer Jeff
Davis alongside De Vivo). The only lapse: horn soloists
are not clearly identified.
There’s a story underlying Córdoba, named for the
city and province in Argentina where Giraudo was
raised. Contrasting urban and rural moods, images of
girls riding to school on horseback, the bitter taste of a
local tea called mate (mah’-tay): such are Giraudo’s
inspirations, stamped with nostalgia and evoked by
means of indigenous rhythms such as the chacarera,
zamba and baguala. There’s a pronounced folkloric
quality and a reliance on clear-as-a-bell tonal harmony,
anchored by Jess Jurkovic’s piano. Yet the adventurism
of New York jazz bursts through, not least in the
spitfire improvisation of altoists Will Vinson and Todd
Bashore, trumpeters Jonathan Powell and Tatum
Greenblatt and trombonists Ryan Keberle and Mike
Fahie, among others.
Giraudo is not a showy bassist, but he solos
fluently on “Sol Naciente” and nails complex lines on
electric bass - a sound new to this group - on “Duende
del Mate”, doubling with Vinson’s soprano sax to
startling effect. He brings a subtle Ellingtonian flair to
the three-part “Pueblo”, adding in a marvelous chorale
passage for flutes and bass clarinet. But apart from the
finely wrought arrangements, it’s the tight and
playfully lopsided rhythm - and the buzzing thud of
that cajón - that gives Giraudo’s little big band its most
sizable impact.
For more information, visit zohomusic.com. Giraudo’s
sextet is at Barbès Jul. 9th and orchestra at 92YTribeca Jul.
19th. See Calendar.
Gray Scale
Free Fall (Smalltown Superjazzz)
Last Train to the First Station
Reed Trio (Kilogram)
Strade d’Acqua/Roads of Water
Ken Vandermark (Multikulti Project)
by John Sharpe
In these pages some months ago, trombonist Steve
Swell highlighted a new paradigm of the current jazz
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Córdoba
Pedro Giraudo Jazz Orchestra (ZOHO)
by David R. Adler
scene that many are missing: the tendency for tenor and grainy lyricism from Jeb Bishop’s trombone
musicians to be improvising in a number of approaches while the jazzy groove of “Austral Cartography”
and settings, but maintaining a personal soundscape. develops from an assortment of bass riffs languidly
No one personifies this more than the prolific Chicago deployed by Nate McBride and buoying up lovely
reedman Ken Vandermark, who hits the road for more relaxed solos from Vandermark and trumpeter Jaimie
than half the year in an absurdly wide range of vehicles, Branch. Knowing what these folks are capable of, some
may be underwhelmed, but of course like all successful
spanning duets to large ensembles.
On Gray Scale, Vandermark appears with two soundtracks, the intent is to support not overpower
Norwegian musicians, both from the Scandinavian and to reap the full effect requires recourse to a
supergroup Atomic. Named after the final recording of screening (possible online).
reedman Jimmy Giuffre’s seminal ‘60s free improvising
trio, Free Fall also mimics their chamber-inclined For more information, visit smalltownsupersound.com,
lineup with the Chicagoan restricting himself to kilogram.pl and multikulti.com. Vandermark is at The
clarinets, alongside Håvard Wiik (piano) and Ingebrigt Stone Jul. 8th-9th. See Calendar.
Håker Flaten (bass). While the group’s previous
albums have featured charts from each bandmember
alongside free improvisations, on this studio set the
band has dispensed entirely with written compositions.
And the gambit pays off handsomely with one of the
band’s strongest outings, where the group ethos of
austere contemporary classicism juxtaposed with
energetic expression transcends the lack of paperwork.
Together they create wonderful synchronicities that
www.innova.mu
would be almost impossible to plot, like the astonishing
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passage on “Griseus” where Håker Flaten’s muscular
www.composersforum.org
percussive slap of string against wood is matched by
Vandermark’s tongue-clicking clarinet, framing Wiik’s
insistent piano embellishment. Such convergences
abound and each adds unexpected flourishes. On
“Argenteus” the clarinetist’s clarion cry stands in stark
THE
relief against Wiik’s pecking piano and the bassist’s
soaring arco muttering like distant gulls to set up a
DIFFERENT
compelling meditative ending. Each listen to this
DRUMMER
excellent disc reveals fresh depths.
Another threesome takes the stage on Last Train to
...IS ON OUR LABEL
the First Station by the descriptively named Reed Trio,
which matches Vandermark with two Polish confreres
from his Resonance Ensemble. Consisting of 11
2011July.indd 1
6/17/11 3:52 PM
spontaneous pieces, the program explores all the
possibilities inherent in the lineup through three duos,
solos for each and a handful of trios. Variety is assured
through switches of personnel and instrumentation, all
helpfully demarcated on the neatly-packaged case so
the listener can track who is playing what. Recorded in
front of what sounds like a smallish audience, there is
a slightly distant ambience, but it is still possible to
hear all the intimate minutiae. All three prove
instrumentalists of the highest order. On his feature,
reedman Mikolaj Trzaska blows throaty alto saxophone
with a broad vibrato, moving from the yelping to the
lyric while clarinetist Waclaw Zimpel seems more
concerned with timbre and weight of line, channeling
didgeridoo through his bass clarinet before flowering
into eloquent soliloquy. Together they contrast an
almost classical severity with multiphonics and
extreme registers in a set that doesn’t quite match the
beautiful ugliness of Vandermark’s other reed trio
Sonore with Peter Brötzmann and Mats Gustafsson,
but still promises enough to make this group worth
watching.
Also
crossing
international
borders
is
Vandermark’s first soundtrack, composed to
accompany Strade d’Acqua/Roads of Water, a movie that
records a journey up the Amazon by Italian director
Augusto Contento. To perform his charts, Vandermark
assembled a cast of frequent collaborators under the
moniker Predella Group. Compared to much of the
Chicagoan’s output, he utilizes simpler forms here,
more often structured around steady rhythms, though
on some numbers like the opening “Further” abrupt
cuts increase complexity and mirror cinematic
technique. Tim Daisy’s varied percussion is one of the
key determinants of mood. His calm marimba patterns
evoke flowing water at the outset of the episodic “Sieve
of the Soul”, but his choppy clatter in tandem with the
leader ’s dissonant saxophone during “Signal” creates
a more edgy vibe. A sense of restraint runs through the
set. “Dust Town” nurtures a gentle swing with breathy
Live at Feinstein’s
Rebecca Kilgore/Harry Allen Quartet (Arbors)
by George Kanzler
Supper club/cabaret rooms like Feinstein’s don’t just
book bands, they book theme acts or shows. So here we
have the show singer Rebecca Kilgore and tenor
saxophonist Harry Allen’s quartet presented in August
2010, the hook being the brief but resonant teaming, on
(mostly) ‘30s records, between Billie “Lady Day”
Holiday and Lester “Prez” Young. But the repertoire
here isn’t limited to songs those two recorded together,
just as the performances don’t mimic the music.
Classic swing is an increasingly rare commodity
these days. Many younger neo-swing musicians and
especially singers are content to skim the surface of
swing feel, either rocking pendulum fashion on a twobeat rhythm or stomping down on a foursquare, fourbeat rhythm. Both lack the nuance and lilt of vocal and
small combo swing exemplified here by Allen’s band Rossano Sportiello (piano), Joel Forbes (bass) and
Chuck
Riggs
(drums)
and
Kilgore.
Those yearning for the bittersweet, rueful angst of
later Holiday need not apply here, as heartbreak and
pathos are not on the menu, nor are bathetic and selfflagellating songs (or interpretations). The touchstone
here is “Getting Some Fun Out of Life” and even “You
EVERY MONDAY NIGHT IN 2011 led by award-winning
vibist/composer Karl Berger in the tradition of the legendary
Creative Music Studio. Original compositions, themes by the likes
of Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, and world musical melodies will
be utilized for orchestral explorations and contrasting
solo/duo/trio flights. This series supports the Creative Music
Studio Archive Project.
Performers include: Art Bailey, Skye Steele, Frederika Krier, Sara
Bernstein, Sylvain Leroux, Miguel Manna, Jorge Sylvester, David
Schnug, Stephen Gauci, Catherine Sikora, Thomas Heberer, Herb
Robertson, Brian Drye, Steve Swell, Bill Wright Dominic Lash,
David Perrott, Adam Lane, Jeremy Carlstedt, David Miller, Harris
Eisenstadt, Philip Foster, Ingrid Sertso, Karl Berger.
All are welcome to the 7:15 rehearsal and 9:00 performance for one
fee of $20 ($10 for students, musicians and seniors)
The Stone is located at the corner of Ave C and E 2nd St, NYC
www.creativemusicstudio.org
Can’t Lose a Broken Heart” is approached as more lark
than lament.
The old swing maxim that “T’Ain’t What’cha Do,
It’s The Way How’cha Do It” applies, especially to
songs recorded by Holiday that have never really been
standards, none more so than the opening track, “Your
Mother ’s Son-in-Law”, from Holiday’s first recording
session in 1933, when she was still a teenager. Kilgore
adds the verse Holiday never recorded, Allen quotes
Benny Goodman licks (who was on the original
session) and the two insert some scat-plus-sax shout
riffs in the middle, making this novelty song a bright
delight. “Them There Eyes” gets a fast spin with
panache, Kilgore never rushing as she flexibly toys
with the melody, Allen adding gruff heft with his sax his tone/approach is more late Al Cohn or Ben Webster
than Prez these days. Allen and Kilgore interact
becomingly as his obbligati shadow vocals, but it’s the
subtleties and nuances of their time and swing that
make this CD so enjoyable.
For more information, visit arborsrecords.com. Allen is at
Feinstein’s Jul. 11th, 92nd Street Y Jul. 21st and Jazz
Standard Jul. 28th-31st with Freddy Cole. See Calendar.
Heart’s Reflections
Wadada Leo Smith’s Organic (Cuneiform)
by Stuart Broomer
In its latest expansive recording, trumpeter Wadada
Leo Smith’s Organic is a 14-member band, an ensemble
with four electric guitars, piano, violin, two
saxophones, two laptops and two basses, all of it
pressed forward by the truly magisterial drumming of
Pheeroan akLaff. Clearly an outgrowth of Smith’s
interest in Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis fusion, Organic
expands the concept to take in Smith’s interests in
extended composition and contemporary electronics.
The two-CD set has at its center the piece Heart’s
Reflections: Splendors of Light and Purification, an 11-part
suite, an hour in length, dedicated to the 13th century
spiritual teacher Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili. Its
themes are celebration and serenity, search and elegy
and its often-modal anthems inspire some of Smith’s
finest trumpet playing, whether it’s the beautiful and
pensive Harmon-muted dirge of the opening “The
Dhikr Of Radiant Hearts, Pt. I”, set against the spare
drumming and cymbals of akLaff, or the wistful
floating sound of “Spiritual Wayfarers”, accompanied
by the bubbling electric piano of Angelica Sanchez.
While Smith has tremendous orchestral resources
available to him here, he uses them with rare discretion,
keeping them in check to be unleashed for episodes
like the dense funk-rhythms of the ebullient
“Certainty”. In the final two-part “The Well”, Smith
plays long stretches with just akLaff or the laptop
players Mark Trayle and Charlie Burgin. The individual
voices of the guitarists, most notably Michael Gregory
and Brandon Ross, are heard at greater length in the
long suites that open and close the CDs - 20 minute
homages to the late Don Cherry and Leroy Jenkins,
each of which moves through a kaleidoscope of shifting
moods and are less introspective than the title suite.
From its rock elements to its abstract electronics,
Organic successfully fuses diverse elements of Smith’s
multi-faceted musical personality.
For more information, visit cuneiformrecords.com. Smith is at
The Stone Jul. 5th in duo with Angelica Sanchez. See Calendar.
27
Doomsayer
Tim Kuhl (eleven2eleven)
by Sean Fitzell
Drummer
Tim Kuhl exemplifies the omnivorous
flexibility of the emerging generation. He’s backed
straight-jazz veterans and mixed with free improvisers.
After two releases featuring his compositions, he tacks
free on Doomsayer. The broad timbres and versatility of
the group - bassist Michael Formanek, guitarist
Jonathan Goldberger, violist Frantz Loriot, trombonist
Ben Gerstein and saxist Jonathan Moritz - ensure the
creative unpredictability that Kuhl craves.
Withholding bombast, the introductory “Gray” is
a patient drum solo with a spare, heavy bass drum
groove that Kuhl extrapolates with flourishes around
the kit. “Gold”, a quarter-hour epic, snakes its way
from amorphous probing to a long section set by
Goldberger ’s pulsing. Kuhl’s emphatic snare bursts
elicit excited retorts, until the piece gradually recedes.
Most pieces illustrate a similarly investigatory
approach; only the caustic “Pink” erupts with the full
band’s cacophony of swirling notes and pounding
drums in a three-minute blast.
Kuhl effectively highlights each musician with
featured subsets. His minimal malleted drums become
tribal for Loriot’s sweeping runs on “Green” while on
“Violet” Formanek and Moritz enter a subdued
dialogue. The bassist’s thick lines begin “Royal”,
before the horns patter against snapped strings and a
pizzicato viola duet develops, followed by a rapid
succession of staccato ‘bone and sax pops. Kuhl’s
rapping snare mirrors Goldberger ’s delayed effect,
cushioning Gerstein’s blowing and concise ending on
“Red”. Haunting guitar and subtle drum colors join for
the darkly cinematic “Black”, apt accompaniment for
the closing credits of an indie-drama and evocative of
the album’s title.
For more information, visit timkuhl.com. This group is at
Cornelia Street Café Jul. 14th. See Calendar.
(re)Conception
Helen Sung (SteepleChase)
by Russ Musto
Little more than a decade and a half after her first
introduction to jazz, Helen Sung has emerged as one of
the music’s premier young pianists. Classical training
is clearly evident in her impeccable technique and
touch, as well the intelligent construction of her
arrangements and improvisations, but the depth of her
jazz devotion is unmistakably apparent in her highly
personalized phrasing and unswerving swing. Inspired
early on by Tommy Flanagan, this disc bears the
unmistakable mark of that great piano master. On only
her second trio outing Sung is joined by Flanagan’s last
rhythm team of bassist Peter Washington and drummer
Lewis Nash and swings with remarkable maturity,
demonstrating mastery of a classic idiom.
The set begins with a reworking of George
Shearing’s “Conception” [hence the (re) prefix], which
integrates Washington’s bass and Nash’s brushes into
an organic group sound. Her arrangement of Frank
Loesser ’s “I Believe In You”, utilizing a Sergio Mendeslike vamp to open and close the piece, reinvigorates
the popular melody. The leader ’s classical background
comes through in virtuosic performances of the
poignantly interpreted “Far From The Home I Love”
(from Fiddler On The Roof) and the briskly waltzing
original composition “Duplicity” (a feature for
Washington’s lyrical bass). The trio’s informal romp on
“C Jam Blues” is truly ducal in its elegance and pure
New York in its vigor.
Sung’s jaunty arrangement of Burt Bacharach’s
ever-charming “Wives and Lovers” displays her
unfailing lyricism, a quality shared by Washington in
both his accompaniment and solo. “Crazy He Calls
Me” is a stirring ballad performance, full of emotional
touches. The uptempo arrangement of Monk’s seldomheard “Teo”, framed as a classically-tinged march,
features the pianist burning things up, propelled by
fast walking bass and irrepressible drumming. The
date’s concluding track, Sung’s arrangement of the
Ellington rarity “Everything But You”, again recalls
the graceful sophistication of the Flanagan trio to end a
recording truly timeless in its sound.
For more information, visit steeplechase.dk. Sung is at
Smalls Jul. 14th. See Calendar.
Bridges
TIN/BAG (Mabnotes)
by Clifford Allen
It wouldn’t be wrong or unfair to call the music of
TIN/BAG, the duo of LA trumpeter Kris Tiner and
Brooklyn guitarist Mike Baggetta, a post-rock pairing.
On Bridges, their third disc together, the mood of
melodic abstraction stretches further away from jazz
and improvised composition, in the semi-traditional
sense, into areas of atmosphere with a decidedly ‘pop’
sensibility. Tiner ’s compositions make up six of the
nine tunes here, the title track and “The Truth” are
Baggetta’s subtle contributions and the disc closes
with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman”.
Baggetta’s guitar work is often stripped-down
and ultra-muted, having a tendency to approach a
kind of dusty, filmic minimalism, which presents an
interesting contrast with the stately, poised cadenzas
of Tiner ’s brass. The opening “Bobo” presents flurries
at first, moving into plaintive footfalls as Baggetta
picks out a spacious, hushed rhythm that offers curious
support to the trumpeter ’s direct, gauzily particulate
phrases. Occasionally, the guitar rhythms give rise to
spiky, air-clearing passages that augment Tiner ’s
steeliness. The pair move through space with sound,
taking time to ensure that notes and progressions are
absolutely felt even if the music is equal parts pictorial
(or imagist) in its reach. “Maslow” is slightly busier
with Tiner ’s gulps, whines and flutters both soft and
with a biting tone while Baggetta’s gentle reverb
caresses and frames the trumpeter ’s agitation.
The title track begins with Baggetta solo, almost
tenor guitar-like in tonal quality. Tiner, upon entering
in muted wafts, channels Wadada Leo Smith with
incisive softness. “The Truth” reprises the opener ’s
folksy qualities, dewy strums floating almost loop-like
with trumpet approaching mildly harried intensity.
It’s fitting that the pair close with Dylan, embracing a
homespun melodicism and wistful romance, but this
cover is unnecessary by the same token - TIN/BAG do
that quite well on their own.
For more information, visit mikebaggetta.com. This group is
at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music Jul. 21st. See Calendar.
Vents Agustí Fernandez/John Saura (psi)
Ambrosia Joe Morris/Agustí Fernández (Riti)
Morning Glory (+ Live in New York)
Agustí Fernandez/Barry Guy/Ramón López (Maya)
Kopros Lithos
Peter Evans/Agusti Fernandez/Mats Gustafsson
(Multikulti Project)
by Ken Waxman
O ver
the past 15 years Catalan pianist Agustí
Fernández has become the most celebrated pianist – if
not complete improviser – from his part of the world.
In many ways he’s the successor to pianist Tete
Montoliu (1933-97). But while Montoliu was a bopper,
Fernández doesn’t limit himself to one style, as this
quartet of memorable discs makes evident.
As founders of the Improvisadors de Barcelona
Orchestra, Fernández has often worked with live
electronics and sampler player Joan Saura. Vents is a
rare duo session from the two. Created in studio over
an eight-month period, Vents’ tracks are so much a part
of the electro-acoustic world that it’s difficult to
remember that Fernández is playing acoustic piano.
Then again the keyboardist is a master of the timbres
that can be bowed, plucked and strummed from
internal strings, usually prepared with vibrating
objects and his expressions mate perfectly with the
austere flanges and oscillations shrilled, reverberated
or crunched by Saura’s electric implements.
Throughout the performances onomatopoeically
reflect both meanings of ‘vent’: an expression of pentup emotion and an opening for the escape of gas to
release pressure. Most of the tracks are remarkable in
the way that Fernández’ tough keyboard pressure and
popping internal strings add a needed humanity to
Saura’s radiator-like hisses, motor-driven grinding
and crackling sound patches.
Ambrosia is not your parents’ guitar-piano duo. It
put a post-modern cast on the proceedings as
Fernández matches wits with guitarist Joe Morris. The
latter, who now often works as a bassist, at times
manages to translate the low timbre of the four-string
to his six-string. That means that echoes of double bass
accompaniment is present while the guitarist
showcases spiky, single-string action. On a tune such
as “Ambrosia 1”, the two languidly complement one
another even while distending the theme. Morris’ frails
speed up to the point that they’re eventually bouncing
from strings below the bridge and on the neck while
Fernández concentrates on swirling and contrasting
dynamics à la Cecil Taylor. Even though legato
passages and harmonies are at a minimum, some of the
tracks on this magisterial six-part suite don’t turn
away from unintentional delicacy. However, if some
tracks come across as a discordant aural version of
greyhound racing, with Fernández chord-spraying as
quickly as Morris string snaps, the two are still able to
intermingle such tactics as soundboard echoes from
the pianist and slurred fingering from the guitarist to
promote sophisticated parallel improvising.
Morning Glory is wedded to acoustic expression.
Recorded in Spain and New York, this two-CD set is a
spiky take on the jazz piano trio with British bassist
Barry Guy and Spanish percussionist Ramón López.
The album’s 19 tracks, especially those recorded live at
Jazz Standard, could be an updating of Bill Evans’
celebrated Village Vanguard sets. With his perfectly
formed notes, Fernández makes his composition
“David M” a piano showcase with deep ruminations in
the instrument’s middle register. A swinging, near
lullaby, it’s also notable for Guy’s slippery modulations
that are unabashedly tonic. Barely there, with
understated bounces on this track, López further
exhibits his sensitive touch throughout. He confirms it
on a tune such as “Don Miquel”, where his nervy tomtom pulse and cymbal scrapes unite with the pianist’s
methodical keyboard strumming to frame Guy’s solo
gorgeously. Almost so-called classical in execution, the
bassist manages to create two different sounds with his
bow, before exciting with hand-pinched lines. There’s
a faint Latin tinge to “Don Miquel”, carried over from
Fernández’ “Aurora” on the other disc. An Iberian take
on Hispanic rhythms, the tremolo patterns reveal many
notes in rapid succession, yet the line stretches enough
to keep the impressionistic theme chromatic. Guy’s
retort features scrapped and stropped strings while the
percussion undertow is mostly rim shots and what
sounds like the hand-crushing of crisp paper. Other
pieces expose more abrasive back-and-forth group
improv, often at lightning-quick speeds. At points
Fernández’ choruses echo from the piano’s lower
quadrant or he jabs at the keys while Guy bows.
More atonal is Kopros Lithos, whose experimental
textures arrive courtesy of the pianist, American
trumpeter Peter Evans and the baritone saxophone and
alto fluteophone of Swede Mats Gustafsson. There’s no
percussion but that doesn’t stop it from being the most
stentorian of the four sets. Between Evans’ flighty
squeals and wide-bore grace notes plus Gustafsson’s
verbal shouts, tongue slaps and growls from his
baritone sax, there’s enough discordance to go around.
On a track such as “You displaced me by your singing”,
Fernández adds to the general din by continuously
rubbing and plucking his piano strings as well as
clattering various objects placed upon them. At the
same time it’s his methodical key-stopping that guides
the trumpeter ’s flutter-tonguing and the saxophonist’s
metal-scrapping honks to a more melodic interface.
Perhaps those connective timbres from the keyboard
also define the message behind another track title: “My
fingers were glue”. Certainly Fernández’ pressure
firmly shapes the parallel improvising from the horns.
Here Evans buzzes and whinnies as if a metal sheet is
pressed against his horn’s bell while Gustafsson
contributes high-velocity snorts and brays.
Fernández’ pianistic control while improvising in
a non-conventional manner is a tribute to his skill. It’s
also another indication why any and all of these discs
are satisfying listens.
For more information, visit emanemdisc.com/psi.html,
aumfidelity.com/riti.htm,
mayarecordings.com
and
multikulti.com. Fernández is at The Stone Jul. 12th in duo
with Joe Morris. See Calendar.
“ ...a textbook example of how effectively a jazz vocalist
can integrate elements of the inside and the outside . . .
consistently musical . . . consistently expressive, not to mention
individualistic . . . Katie Bull sounds like Katie Bull.”
—Alex Henderson, The New York City Jazz Record, June 2011
JULY 10: Nublu
AUGUST 25: University of the Streets
SEPTEMBER TBA: Brecht Forum
OCTOBER TBA: Colony in Woodstock
Go to www.katiebull.com for full schedule details
Katie Bull, vocals
Landon Knoblock, piano & electric piano
Joe Fonda, bass • George Schuller, drums
Jeff Lederer, saxophones & other players from
the Katie Bull Group Project pool TBA
THEKATIE
NEW
CITY
29
BULL YORK
NYC Jazz ad.indd
1 JAZZ RECORD | July 20116/21/11
6:03 AM
Don’t Follow The Crowd
Eric Alexander (HighNote)
by Alex Henderson
H arold Mabern isn’t the only acoustic pianist who
Eric Alexander has featured on his albums, but it is
safe to say that Mabern is at the top of his list. The bigtoned tenor saxophonist has employed his former
teacher on more than ten of his albums and the two of
them are reunited with excellent results on Don’t Follow
The Crowd (which was produced by Don Sickler and
engineered by the legendary Rudy Van Gelder). In fact,
the cohesive quartet Alexander leads on this 2010
session is the same group he led on his 2009 recording
Revival of the Fittest, Alexander and Mabern joined by
Nat Reeves on upright bass and Joe Farnsworth on
drums. But the fact that Alexander is working with the
same musicians doesn’t mean that he plays it safe on
this CD. When it comes to choosing material, Alexander
isn’t afraid to surprise us.
Alexander operates in the acoustic hardbop/
postbop realm, which is full of musicians who insist on
confining themselves to the most overdone standards.
Alexander, however, comes up with an interesting
variety of songs on this album, successfully putting his
stamp on everything from Stanley Myers’ “Cavatina”
(from the 1978 film The Deer Hunter) and Henry
Mancini’s “Charade” to bassist Bill Lee’s dusky
balladic title track. The tenor man brings a Brazilianflavored approach to Gordon Parks’ “Don’t
Misunderstand” (from the early ‘70s Blaxploitation
film Shaft’s Big Score) and he has no problem turning
the Michael Jackson hit “She’s Out of My Life” into a
straightahead bop ballad.
“She’s Out of My Life” is the type of song that
many hardbop/postbop musicians typically ignore;
they automatically assume that because it came out of
R&B/pop, it wouldn’t be a good vehicle for jazz
expression. And when ‘smooth jazz’ musicians perform
that type of song, it is usually a waste of time because
they end up performing dull, lifeless note-for-note
covers and approach the tune as Muzak. But Alexander
takes “She’s Out of My Life” seriously as a jazz vehicle,
and his bop interpretation of the Jackson hit is every
bit as compelling a ballad statement as his version of
the title track.
True to form, Alexander enjoys a strong rapport
with Mabern. Between Alexander ’s authoritative
playing, chemistry with Mabern and intriguing choice
of songs, Don’t Follow The Crowd is yet another fine
album from this expressive tenor saxophonist.
For more information, visit jazzdepot.com. Alexander is at
92nd Street Y Jul. 26th.
Victory!
JD Allen Trio (Sunnyside)
by Joel Roberts
In
the short documentary film that accompanies JD
Allen’s new trio release, the dynamic tenor saxophonist
explains that he’s less interested in writing standalone
songs than in creating sonata-like themes that play out
over the course of an album. It’s a formula he’s
followed with great success on his recent discs and he
returns to it with impressive results on Victory!.
A Detroit native with a brawny tenor sound, Allen
served a lengthy and valuable apprenticeship with
Betty Carter before making a name for himself in recent
years both as a solo artist and as a key member of
trumpeter Jeremy Pelt’s stellar quintet. On this trio
outing - with the powerful rhythm section of bassist
Gregg August and drummer Rudy Royston - Allen
follows a less-is-more philosophy, shunning long,
rambling solos in favor of concise, well-articulated
statements built on infectious, accessible riffs. All his
tunes have clear arcs and decisive endings. It’s a kind
of progressive ‘jukebox jazz’, gritty, urban and soulful,
that bears the influence, at various times, of modern
masters like Coltrane, Rollins and Ornette, plus a
healthy dose of Motown soul.
Standouts among the 12 interwoven tracks - none
longer than five minutes and some less than two include the title tune, which is no fanfare, but rather a
dark, loping, gospel blues with Allen weaving gorgeous
saxophone lines on top of an unrelenting beat. “Sura
Hinda” has a questing, late-Coltrane feel while “Motif”
is an adventurous excursion showcasing Royston’s
muscular drum work. “Philippe Petit”, written for the
French tightrope artist, is a musical high-wire act
featuring intricate bowed bass lines. The lone nonoriginal here - a romantic, breathy Ben Webster-esque
reading of the ballad “Stairway to the Stars” - is a
prime example of Allen’s taste and economy. Clocking
in at a shade over two minutes, it’s just a couple of
choruses, bridge, one more chorus and out, but it
includes a wealth of marvelous playing without an
extraneous note.
The entire album is only about 35 minutes long,
but rather than sit through the extended, often bloated
soloing that provides filler on so many jazz albums,
just hit the repeat button and listen to JD Allen’s
victorious venture twice.
For more information, visit sunnysiderecords.com. Allen is at
Cornelia Street Café Jul. 1st with Michael Bates. See Calendar.
State of Art
Ben Williams (Concord)
by Elliott Simon
S tate of Art has bassist Ben Williams displaying his
warm tone and slick style, qualities no doubt
responsible for his 2009 Monk International Jazz
Competition win and gigs with the likes of Wynton
Marsalis and Herbie Hancock. This is Williams’ debut
as a leader and he has chosen to pay homage to
influences as varied as trumpeter Lee Morgan and pop
stars Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. He
accomplishes this not through rehashed arrangements
but in the context of a contemporary session that mixes
jazz with funk, hiphop and R&B.
Williams’ band is a fleet, youthful and adaptable
bunch. They are as much at home bringing “Moonlight
in Vermont” up to date with electric bass and an
ethereal guitar styling from Mathew Stevens as they
are paying tribute to hardbop trumpet, “The Lee
Morgan Story”, by melding emcee John Robinson’s
raps with Christian Scott’s sizzling trumpet or using a
swinging sax and pretty percussive floor to smooth out
Stevie Wonder ’s “Part Time Lover”. Somewhat
paradoxically “Moontrane” is funked up by combining
Marcus Strickland’s sax with Gerald Clayton’s
keyboards while a shout-out to soul’s godfather James
Brown, “Mr. Dynamite”, is reworked into fusion.
Straighter tunes like the easy-flowing “Dawn of a
New Day”, funky opener “Home”, requisite Latin
number “November” (with spot-on groove from
drummer Jamire Williams and percussionist Etienne
Charles) and soulful “Things Don’t Exist”, featuring a
lovely throwback string arrangement, perfectly
counterbalance the more personal numbers. Rounding
things out is Michael Jackson’s “Little Susie”, a
springboard for Williams to riff out an intro that
provides nutritious jam fodder for the rest of the band.
For more information, visit concordmusicgroup.com. This
group is at 92YTribeca Jul. 19th. See Calendar.
Dave Digs Disney: Legacy Edition
Dave Brubeck (Columbia-Legacy)
by Ken Dryden
Dave Digs Disney was a natural project for the Dave
Brubeck Quartet, which had been playing songs from
various Disney movies on live dates. Brubeck has long
joked that he heard his kids’ Disney records so many
times that he must have absorbed them, but in any
case, the songs all had strong, memorable melodies
that provided a solid base for improvisation. One in
particular, “Someday My Prince Will Come”, remains a
part of the pianist’s concert repertoire over five decades
after he recorded it and has long become a favorite of
jazz musicians.
For some unexplained reason, Columbia recorded
the 1957 sessions in both stereo and mono, yet only
issued six mono tunes on the original LP, followed by a
1994 CD reissue that added two previously unissued
songs (both mono takes). The Legacy edition includes
all eight of the previously issued mono tracks, plus
eight stereo interpretations of the same songs, along
with alternate takes: four stereo and one mono.
The group includes the pianist, alto saxophonist
Paul Desmond, bassist Norman Bates and drummer
Joe Morello. “Alice in Wonderland” has a hip loose
flavor with Brubeck and Bates (followed by Desmond
and Morello) trading fours. Brubeck’s boisterous jazz
waltz treatments of “Someday My Prince Will Come”
are full of magic, the pianist being in a playful mood as
he follows Desmond.
The saxist supplies effortless variations in his
extended solos, particularly in the breezy settings of
“Heigh Ho (The Dwarf’s Marching Song)” (with
Brubeck adding a hilarious quote from Cole Porter ’s
“Anything Goes” in one take) and the relatively
obscure “One Song” (from Snow White and The Seven
Dwarfs). Desmond also shines in the several versions of
the loping arrangement of “When You Wish Upon a
Star”.
Throughout the sessions Bates and Morello (who
sticks mainly to brushes) provide strong support while
Brubeck and Desmond communicate via their unique
ESP to bring out the best in each other. One caveat: this
two-CD set is available only by download or as a CD-R
set manufactured on demand.
For more information, visit legacyrecordings.com. A
Brubeck tribute is at 92nd Street Y Jul. 27th. See Calendar.
Rruga
Colin Vallon (ECM)
by Terrell Holmes
Each
song on Rruga, the wonderful ECM debut by
Swiss pianist Colin Vallon’s trio (after a pair of albums
earlier this decade on local imprints hatHUT and Unit),
unfolds like an intricate mystery waiting to be solved.
Vallon, bassist Patrice Moret and drummer Samuel
Rohrer play the original compositions with a poetic
tenderness and telepathic interplay. And the adventure
lies not in solving the puzzles but in the journey toward
their resolutions.
“Telepathy”, “Home” and the title cut are songs
that flow within spare, eloquent melodies that give
them the intimacy of solemn conversations among
close friends. There are also stand-you-up-straight
moments of invention. Vallon strumming and bowing
the piano strings on “Polygonia” builds a challenging
foundation for Moret’s bold face pizzicato and Rohrer ’s
intense drumming. Listeners and travellers will cringe
at the title “Eyjafjallajökull” (2010’s erupting Icelandic
volcano pronounced EH-ya-fiat-la-YO-kut) and that
memorable chaos brews in its musical rendering, with
Vallon’s ominous undercurrents, Rohrer ’s percussion
with beads and Moret’s measured plucking. Their
voices also blend perfectly on “Noreia” and “Meral”,
where Vallon creates an echo effect toward the end of
the song reminiscent of church bells pealing in the
distance. On “Iskar” (and on “Rruga, var.” to a lesser
degree) the trio plays like two trios, where the former
plays the instruments more conventionally and the
doppelganger produces an aural bouquet where the
instruments are practically interchangeable.
When the Colin Vallon Trio made its New York
debut last month at the Rubin Museum of Ar as part of
its first US tour, the show underscored the exceptional
nature of this dynamic and multi-dimensional group.
Each man manipulated his instrument to assume the
character and aspect of one of the others.
They opened the set with the the album’s title cut
and followed that with “Polygonia”. Vallon bowed the
piano strings and strummed them; he also plucked the
strings to produce kalimba-like sounds. All of these
gave the music an added dimension and texture. Moret
at one point hand-drummed on the outside of his bass.
Rohrer moved skillfully among sticks, mallets and
brushes to produce a mosaic of sounds. He used a
small bow to ‘play’ the edges of his drum kit and
caressed his snare and cymbals with a string of beads,
doing so with the solemnity and care of a shaman
summoning a spirit. He could also go from percussive
to concussive by whipping off thunderous volleys that
would have aroused pride and envy in Brian Blade. But the ultimate kudos must go to Vallon, a truly
gifted pianist who plays and leads with strength,
spontaneity, introspection and a melodic sophistication
that results in a balanced and unique sound.
For more information, visit ecmrecords.com
Goodbye New York, Hello World
Matt Lavelle (Music Now!)
by John Sharpe
Matt Lavelle stakes his claim as an up-and-coming
member of that select band of multi-instrumentalists
who doubles on brass and reeds. With Goodbye New
York, Hello World the Downtown fixture issues a
bulletin from the free jazz frontline together with a
cadre of familiar collaborators. Drawn from two live
sessions at The Kitchen in New York City, the 66-minute
program chronicles a mix of duet and quartet
performances,
featuring
strong
soloing
on
uncomplicated blowing vehicles that largely avoid
invoking the fire music defaults.
Breathily fluent on cornet, but more impassioned
and vocalized on bass clarinet, Lavelle has something
to say on all his axes, leavening insistent repetition
with vaulting unpredictability. Francois Grillot’s bass
(recorded slightly hot) keeps the leader good company
throughout. In three duets he advances flexible
propulsion, cycling through a selection of riffs while
simultaneously adding adroit counterpoint. On the
three quartet tracks the pair is joined by Ras Moshe on
tenor saxophone, proving particularly accomplished in
overblown falsetto excitement, and drummer Bob
Hubbard, who maintains momentum with a constant
cymbal pulse embroidered by a clattering rat-a-tat.
Lavelle takes a lengthy bass clarinet solo on the
sprightly freebop of “Your the Tonic”, which also
features winning interaction with Grillot. Here and
elsewhere on the group cuts some of the transitions
back to the heads are somewhat tentative suggesting a
work in progress. But their chemistry is palpable and
also in evidence on “Choices”, a brooding dirge notable
for fine interplay between the bassist’s bow work and
the leader ’s weighty low-pitched reed. “Rose”, the
fleet-fingered
opening
cut,
sounds
like
an
extemporization for pinched cornet and fast walking
bass, before closing with a feature for Grillot alone,
where the Frenchman is able to meld melody with
meter to good effect. On “Endings and Beginnings” the
twosome is cool and airy, only becoming more
purposeful when Lavelle switches to his mellifluous
alto clarinet. The simple theme of “WAYNE” provides
a launching pad for another slab of wiry freebop, with
Lavelle’s agile flugelhorn work presaging Moshe’s
calming mid-register tenor cascades, but the concluding
title track, where Hubbard’s resonant gongs impart a
ritual feel nicely setting off Lavelle’s meditative alto
clarinet, suggests possibilities for future exploration.
For more information, visit mattlavelle.org. Lavelle is at
University of the Streets Jul. 2nd as a leader and 27th with
Chris Forbes and Brecht Forum Jul. 17th. See Calendar.
31
Beneath Tones Floor
Oluyemi Thomas/Sirone/Michael Wimberly
(NoBusiness)
by Ken Waxman
Best-known as the anchor of the Revolutionary
Ensemble in the ‘70s (and ‘00s revival), bassist Sirone
(born Norris Jones) adds his rhythmic power and
invention to this exemplary trio set recorded at the
Brecht Forum in 2008, likely his final American
recording. But there’s no feeling that the bassist, who
recorded very infrequently as a leader and before his
death at 69 in 2009 lived in Berlin, is anything but an
equal partner here. Other bandmembers are multireedist Oluyemi Thomas, an occasional New York
visitor from Oakland, California who has, in his small
discography, worked with bassist Alan Silva, drummer
Sunny Murray and guitarist Henry Kaiser, and local
percussionist Michael Wimberly.
Sirone’s tough strumming and col legno patterning
add the appropriate connecting thread to the 10 tracks,
which flow seamlessly into one another. Wimberly,
whose bass and saxophone associates have included
such distinctive improvisers as Charles Gayle and
Wilber Morris, knows exactly how to color the
proceedings: cross-sticking, focused rim-shots and
clattering paradiddles.
On top of Sirone’s flamenco guitar-like facility
and the drummer ’s sympathetic understatements,
which on a piece like “Silence On The Move” zip from
martial pacing to stick friction without losing the beat,
Thomas extemporizes equally on all his horns. He
barks and vibrates on soprano saxophone; speeds his
bass clarinet tones from guttural tremolo to stuttering
altissimo and overcomes the musette’s nasal properties
while chromatically blending it at different times with
grounded timbres from one or the other rhythm
players.
Beginning
acappella,
“Heavenly
Wisdom”
showcases guttural bass clarinet smears mixed with
vocalized hums that evolve when the bassist adds a
moderato bowed line. Thomas’ soprano saxophone
proffers a solid demonstration of flutter-tonguing on
the title track and elsewhere displays the reedist’s
capacity for disjointed, yet emotional multiphonics.
Most notable of the improvisations is the classic duo
contrast that arises on “Reflections of Silence, Painting
Silence, Images Of Silence”, which match the bassist’s
wood-vibrating licks with either Thomas’ Pied Piperlike flute peeps or pinched musette shrills.
Beneath Tones Floor is a rare example of in-themoment cohesive improvising that, due to Sirone’s
death (plus the inherent nature of this kind of music),
can never be repeated. Luckily someone had the
foresight to record this program for those not there to
witness it.
For more information, visit nobusinessrecords.com. Thomas
and Wimberly are at Clemente Soto Velez Jul. 18th. See
Calendar.
U
SE
EW
D
N
In Search Of…
Ken Peplowski (Capri)
by Ken Dryden
236 West 26 Street, Room 804
New York, NY 10001
Monday-Saturday, 10:00-6:00
Tel: 212-675-4480
Fax: 212-675-4504
Email: [email protected]
Web: jazzrecordcenter.com
LP’s, CD, Videos (DVD/VHS),
Books, Magazines, Posters,
Postcards, T-shirts,
Calendars, Ephemera
Buy, Sell, Trade
Collections bought
and/or appraised
Also carrying specialist labels
e.g. Fresh Sound, Criss Cross,
Ayler, Silkheart, AUM Fidelity,
Nagel Heyer, Eremite, Venus,
Clean Feed, Enja and many more
Multi-reedist Ken Peplowski has made his mark since
arriving in New York City in the mid ‘80s. He studied
with Sonny Stitt and toured with Benny Goodman’s
final orchestra while also recording extensively,
making over 30 CDs as a leader since 1987 and working
with similarly-minded players like Loren Schoenberg,
Charlie Byrd, Randy Sandke and John Pizzarelli.
The bulk of this aptly-titled release showcases
Peplowski with pianist Shelly Berg, bassist Tom
Kennedy and drummer Jeff Hamilton. Rather than
choose the typical mix of standards and familiar jazz
works, Peplowski, who listens to a wide range of
music, mostly opted for neglected gems and new
material.
Freddie Redd’s “The Thespian” is from the
pianist’s Shades of Redd; Peplowski displays both his
lyrical chops and fluid hardbop licks on tenor sax. No
vocalist is needed for Peplowski’s majestic setting of
the ballad “When Joanna Loved Me”, with a magical
vibrato in the style of Ben Webster.
Switching to clarinet, Peplowski’s whispering
take of Rodgers-Hart’s “A Ship Without a Sail” (from
the 1929 musical Heads Up!) and his longing, emotional
setting of Cy Coleman’s “With Every Breath I Take”
demonstrate his mastery of interpreting ballads. Berg
penned “Peps” in honor of the leader, a cooking bop
vehicle that stimulates the quartet, along with the
gorgeous ballad salute to Billy Strayhorn “In Flower”
(recorded previously by Berg on Lorraine Feather ’s
Language with her lyric), both featuring the leader on
clarinet.
The final three tracks come from a self-produced
2007 session. Peplowski’s robust tenor is paired with
bassist Greg Cohen in a breezy setting of “No Regrets”.
George Harrison’s “With You and Without You” is
transformed into an exotic Far Eastern setting, with
Peplowski as the only soloist, his trance-like clarinet
beautifully backed by Cohen, vibraphonist Chuck
Redd and percussionist Joe Ascione. The finale is a hip
New Orleans-flavored duet of “Rum and Coca-Cola”
(honoring Professor Longhair) featuring the clarinetist
with Ascione.
For more information, visit caprirecords.com. Peplowski is
at 92nd Street Y Jul. 19th. See Calendar.
IN PRINT
Blue Note Records:
A Guide for Identifying Original Pressings
Frederick Cohen (Jazz Record Center)
by Clifford Allen
No
jazz record label is more revered than Blue
Note, as to which the label biographies, nearconstant reissue programs (on both CD and LP),
books of album cover art and frequently high prices
of original vinyl can attest. Jazz Record Center shop
head honcho Fred Cohen has assembled a fascinating
field guide to identifying original pressings of Blue
Note titles from its first modern jazz singles and teninches until the full changeover to Liberty Records
labels around 1967. With all of the “original”
pressing Blue Notes being touted - and supposedly
faithful reproductions – it’s important for collectors
to have something that will ideally stave one off
from paying too much money.
The guide painstakingly explores such things
as the deep groove (created by the center clamp for
metal stampers in the record manufacturing
process), raised or flat rims, the presence of the
Plastylite “P” (erroneously referred to as the “ear”
by some) and Rudy Van Gelder ’s name or initials in
the run-off grooves and last but not least the various
Blue Note office addresses. All of this information is
handy – one can find Blue Note records pressed well
into the ‘60s with label addresses from a decade
earlier, but missing a deep groove or flat edge.
Sometimes such records are incorrectly referred to
as originals – with this guide in hand, one can
perhaps avoid the mistake of overpaying.
Some of the facts are downright maddeningly
arcane – a slight grey tint to a copy of Blue Train is
supposedly indicative of a first-run jacket. Even
those collectors and fans who are a bit closer to
diehard or obsessive can find new information in
this book – such as the rare blank-back single sleeves
from the ‘50s or the variability among laminated/
non-laminated sleeves being tied to jacket suppliers.
These details are reminiscent of a train-spotter
pointing out curiously mismatched parts on a diesel
locomotive. It’s a fascinating and frequently headscratching book of facts about records as objects/
artifacts and definitely invaluable to boot.
For more information, visit jazzrecordcenter.com. A
celebration of Blue Note Records is at 92nd Street Y Jul.
26th. See Calendar.
Hi-Fly
Sachal Vasandani (Mack Avenue)
by Joel Roberts
Sachal Vasandani is a young mainstream jazz singer
with plenty of promise, as evidenced by this new
release (his third for the Mack Avenue label since his
2007 debut Eyes Wide Open). With his classic crooner ’s
approach, impressive vocal technique, charisma and
good looks, he’s well-positioned to reach the crossover
audiences that gravitate to the likes of Harry Connick
Jr. and Jamie Cullum. But he also has strong
straightahead jazz chops and a sensibility that imbues
everything he sings with a jazz spirit, whether it’s
standards, original compositions, or surprising
contemporary choices, like Amy Winehouse’s “Love is
a Losing Game”, delivered here as a melancholy, latenight torch song.
The new album features appealing, if somewhat
conventional readings of familiar fare like “The Very
Thought of You” and “All the Way”. More engaging
are two tracks that pit Vasandani with vocalese master
Jon Hendricks, still a force to be reckoned with at age
89. Hendricks pushes the younger singer, nearly 70
years his junior, to break out of his comfort zone on a
joyful, rollicking take on “One Mint Julep” and returns
for the Randy Weston-composed title track, for which
Hendricks penned the lyrics. Vasandani more than
holds his own with Hendricks and clearly has a blast
trading jabs with the jazz legend.
Vasandani contributes several original tunes as
well, notably “Flood”, the album’s emotional
centerpiece, which was inspired by recent devastating
natural disasters around the world. Vasandani and his
fine trio (pianist Jeb Patton, bassist David Wong and
drummer Kendrick Scott), along with guest soloists
Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet and John Ellis on
tenor sax, get their best chance to stretch out on the
singer ’s “Babe’s Blues”. A solid outing by an up-andcoming vocalist with a bright future.
For more information, visit mackavenue.com. Vasandani is
at 92nd Street Y Jul. 28th. See Calendar.
Asynchronous
Van Hove/Dunmall/Rogers/Lytton (SLAM)
by Ken Waxman
F eaturing an enviable instance of a so-called
supergroup of improvisers clicking in a festival setting
(the 2008 Europa Jazz Festival in Le Mans, France),
Asynchronous demonstrates what can be done in the
familiar saxophone and rhythm section milieu. It helps
that each participant is a veteran, comfortable in many
improv situations even if this is a one-time-only
meeting. Paul Dunmall, who plays tenor saxophone
and border pipes here, and seven-string bassist Paul
Rogers are one-half of the cooperative British quartet
Mujician, as well as leading their own bands. Antwerpbased pianist Fred Van Hove has been defining a
Flemish variant of free jazz since before his participation
in 1968’s Machine Gun. And Belgium-based, Englishborn drummer Paul Lytton is equally adaptable,
having spent four decades collaborating with stylists
ranging from British saxophonist Evan Parker to
American trumpeter Nate Wooley.
Proof of this cooperation is dazzlingly apparent
during the CD’s almost 47-minute title track. Dunmall
spits out pressurized vibrato and split tones with his
considerable body weight behind them while Van
Hove counters with churning chords and equally
kinetic runs. As the saxman’s glissandi become
progressively glottal and atonal, the pianist reaches
inside his instrument to animate the tightly wound
strings with stops, strums and pops.
Rogers’ thick pressure on the bass’ multiple strings
plus Lytton’s skittering drags and rebounds hold the
rhythm, no matter how often the saxophonist’s timbres
move from nephritic to altissimo. With the only
momentary release from the staccato, cascading sound
textures those few instances when Lytton strikes a
small bell with a wire brush, the fortissimo and
polyphonic performance ends as intensely as it began.
Van Hove continues outputting pile-driver chords;
Lytton ruffs and rolls; Rogers’ sul tasto slides and,
nearly engulfing the other tones, Dunmall boosts his
staccato tongue slaps and multiphonic intensity.
Overall, the skills displayed are such that fourpart connectivity is never lost, making the date a
tribute to both individual talent and group interaction.
For more information, visit slamproductions.net
Woods & Mays
Phil Woods/Bill Mays (Palmetto)
by Ken Dryden
N ow in his sixth decade as professional, Phil Woods
has built an impressive, extensive discography as a
leader while also serving as a sideman on many
memorable recordings, having played with Thelonious
Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones, to name just
a few. The Springfield, Massachusetts native was
honored as an NEA Jazz Master in 2007, one of
numerous awards he has received in his illustrious
career. Bill Mays, who joined Woods’ quintet several
years ago, has a distinguished resumé as a leader,
composer and sideman, like many of his predecessors
in the band. Mays’ vast knowledge of tunes and
improvising skill make him the perfect match for the
peerless alto saxophonist, almost two generations his
senior.
Woods has a gift for writing memorable songs and
he debuts two new compositions here. “Blues For
Lopes” honors the late Joe Lopes, a fellow Springfield
native and close friend who played with Supersax and
helped prepare Woods for Juilliard. The saxophonist’s
hip tribute is a playful affair, with he and Mays
engaging in an amusing trading of fours. “Hank Jones”
honors the late fellow NEA Jazz Master, a lush lyrical
affair representative of the effortless elegance with
which Jones played a ballad. The late saxophonist Al
Cohn was another close friend and a prolific composer;
Woods’ emotional setting of Cohn’s “Danielle” conveys
the sense of longing without the need of a vocalist.
Woods has long had a gift for uncovering forgotten
songs, such as Richard Rodgers’ “Do I Love You?”,
which was written for the 1957 Cinderella television
special. The duo’s exuberant treatment makes one
wonder why it was neglected. Of course, Woods and
Mays can find something fresh within the most
frequently played standards. The pianist opens George
Gershwin’s “How Long Has This Been Going On?” by
playing the often-omitted verse as a moving piano
solo, with Woods then adding his piercing, spacious
alto in a deliberate arrangement. The duo plays their
buoyant interpretation of Irving Berlin’s “The Best
Thing For You Would Be Me” at a brisk tempo as the
two men engage in a lively musical conversation.
For more information, visit palmetto-records.com. Woods is
at 92nd Street Y Jul. 21st. Mays is there Jul. 20th. See
Calendar.
ON DVD
Jon & Jimmy: Dreams, Drugs and Django
(Euforia)
by Terrell Holmes
J azz history is littered with instances of musicians
whose personal demons overshadowed their talents
and ultimately destroyed them. The documentary
Jon & Jimmy: Dreams, Drugs & Django shows how
addiction and codependence affected the lives of
two gifted guitarists.
Jimmy Rosenberg grew up in a caravan in
Holland and attracted attention as a guitarist before
he turned ten. Bold in his approach to improvisation,
his speed and technique were unparalleled. Jon
Larsen is a respected musician and producer 20
years Jimmy’s senior. Their link is their love for
guitar legend Django Reinhardt, who is at the core
of this film. Jimmy, like Django, is a gypsy of Sinti
heritage. They met at a Django festival in France.
Jimmy became Jon’s friend and musical partner; Jon
loves Jimmy like a brother, saying that playing with
him is like “capturing the moment and being alive.”
As Jimmy approached the cusp of superstardom,
he was allegedly offered cocaine at a party during
an American tour and the downward spiral began.
He eventually wound up living on the streets for
three years with no guitar. In the grand tradition of
self-delusion, Jimmy sees his addiction as a
conspiracy hatched against him and not of his own
doing.
Jimmy and Jon reconnected in 2004 and after
recording and touring briefly Jon booked three
months’ worth of gigs and recording dates. But
Jimmy’s behavior was erratic, including violent
episodes with promoters and the police. Jimmy even
threatened to kill Jon and his family. After a failed
attempt at reconciliation, things ended between Jon
and Jimmy inversely to the way they began. Jon
arranges to perform Django’s music with a
symphony orchestra but decides against Jimmy as a
guest soloist, using Jimmy’s brother Stokolo instead.
While watching this relationship unfold is tortuous,
the true shame of Jon & Jimmy is that the music
becomes marginalized because one man didn’t take
enough responsibility for his own life and another
man took too much responsibility for it.
For more information, visit djangomovies.com. A Django
tribute is at Birdland Jul. 1st-3rd, featuring Young Lions
of Gypsy Jazz. See Calendar.
33
BOXED SET
The Complete Short Stories 1998-2010
Howard Riley (NoBusiness)
by Andrey Henkin
Though he was a contemporary of all the avant
British stars of the ‘60s - giving Barry Guy his first
major exposure and later participating in the bassist’s
monumental Ode; working with Tony Oxley, Paul
Rutherford, John Stevens and others - pianist
Howard Riley never became the international
sensation the others did. A possible reason for his
anonymity is that he has almost exclusively worked
with fellow Brits, the major exception a duo disc
with a somewhat equally obscure American, Jaki
Byard. He has had a steady profile, working early on
in trio formats, then moving to solo work, followed
by numerous duos and then varied appearances with
groups like Guy’s London Jazz Composers Orchestra
and partnerships with the late Elton Dean. He may
not be as lauded as countrymen pianists like Keith
Tippett or John Taylor but can be argued to be
Britain’s original avant garde one, never straying far
from the cerebral promise of his first crop of discs.
Riley had a productive relationship with several
British imprints in the late ‘90s to mid ‘00s: FMR
(most notably a duo with Tippett); SLAM (solos to
duos to quartets) and Emanem (an amazing trio of
pianos with Tippett and John Tilbury the highpoint).
But suddenly he appeared with a solo piano
performance from 2009 in Vilnius, Lithuania,
released by that country’s relatively new avant garde
label NoBusiness. Much like saxist Mats Gustafsson’s
two albums for the label, this live date was somewhat
of a departure from NoBusiness’ catalogue of mostly
American and Eastern European artists. So The
Complete Short Stories 1998-2010 is a remarkable
commitment to an artist who deserves a greater
reputation than he has thus far garnered.
There are six discs in this boxed set. The first
two reissue the very obscure (so much so it doesn’t
even figure into several online discographies) Short
Stories (ESProductions, 1998-99). The second pair
revives the second volume in that series, recorded in
2004 and 2006 and originally issued by SLAM. The
last two discs are new material, recorded in London
(as was most of the music) in 2008 and 2010.
Riley’s music since the beginning of his career
has been highly iconoclastic. He is not a free-pounder
nor an ivory-stroker or an inside-the-case wanderer.
His first album from 1967 was very much in the vein
of period Paul Bley. Later with Guy and either Oxley
or Alan Jackson he moved into abstraction worthy of
an Andrew Hill, an aesthetic that would figure into
his early solo work. But by the start of this decadeplus worth of music, when he was 55, Riley had
mellowed somewhat. The tunes became shorter and
more melodic and on the whole he added accessibility
to his repertoire, crucial when trying to digest a set
of this magnitude: 79 pieces at close to five-and-ahalf hours in total duration.
But that accessibility is a relative term; this is
not solo piano à la Chick Corea where the floridness
can be easily ignored or Cecil Taylor, whose density
is much of the point. Riley’s pieces are discrete
miniatures yet do not come off as insubstantial.
There are moments recalling his earlier angularity
followed
immediately
by
bluesy
musings,
subconscious paeans to omnivorous players like
Byard. That those two worked together may be the
best means to describe Howard Riley. At this point in
his career, to which this boxed set attests, he can,
does, will and want to play everything. He may be
the closest thing England has to Thelonious Monk,
another individualist. Riley may not have Monk’s
subversive humor but he does have his sculptor ’s
touch, forming pieces that work in three dimensions.
Except for the last disc’s five pieces, the longest
tune here is seven minutes but most average about
three-and-a-half minutes. This allows Riley to invest
a great deal of himself in a short space of time
without getting overly attached to what he is playing.
There is another tune, another dozen tunes just
around the corner. As a listener, it can still be
overwhelming as there is little respite throughout
the set, even for those already acquainted with
Riley’s approach(es). Though fame may be nice,
Riley’s isolation has given him a style and nuance he
might not have gotten if he had to adapt to dozens of
musical environments or pledge allegiance to a
particular school of playing. The title of the set is apt:
he is a writer, crafting literary bursts alone.
For more information, visit nobusinessrecords.com
Lou Caputo “Not So Big Band”
New CD. Featuring the “Not So Big Band”
live jazz nightly
J U LY 1 –3
KENNY GARRET T
QUARTE T
with Benito Gonzalez, Nat Reeves
& Ronald Bruner
After Hours: Sharel Cassity Quintet
J U LY 1 9 –2 4
TIERNE Y SUT TON BAND
With some of New York’s Finest: Bill Crow, Geoffrey
Burke, John Eckert, Leopoldo Fleming, Billy Hart,
Jason Ingram, Howard Johnson, Virginia Mayhew,
Rudy Petschasuer, Dave Smith, Don Stein, Chris
White, Joel Perry plus vocalist Jann Parker.
A dynamic Cd from a small band with a big sound,
featuring an eclectic repertoire with plenty of room
for blowing and arrangements by some of New
York’s finest talents.
with Christian Jacob, Kevin Axt
& Ralph Humphrey
After Hours: Robert Rodriguez Trio
J U LY 2 5
DOMINICK FARINACCI
SEX TE T
J U LY 4 – 1 1
C LO S ED FO R
M A I N T EN A N C E
J U LY 1 2 – 1 7
M ARCUS ROBERTS TRIO
with Rodney Jordan & Jason Marsalis
After Hours: Kimberly Thompson Trio
J U LY 1 8
TA MMY MCCANN
QUINTET
with Dan Kaufman, Yasushi Nakamura,
Guilherme Monteiro, Keita Ogawa,
Lawrence Leathers & Special Guest
Jonathan Batiste
J U LY 2 6 –3 1
CL AUDIA ACUÑA
QUINTE T
with Marc Cary, Mark Kelley,
Juancho Herrera & Yayo Serka
After Hours: John Benitez Group
Check out the Band live at our home base
The Garage 7th Ave South NYC
July 19th, August 16th, September 20th, November 15th
Lou can also be heard with his Quartet at The Garage
Sunday Brunch Noon-4pm
July 10th, August 14th, September 11th
jalc.org/dccc
R E S E R VAT I O N S
2 1 2-2 5 8 -9 5 9 5 / 9 7 9 5
ARTIST SETS
7:30 / 9:30, Fri–Sat 11:30
AFTER HOURS
Tues–Sat after last artist set
Photo courtesy of The Frank Driggs Collection
CD available at CDbaby, Amazon And Itunes
(INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6)
(LABEL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12)
TNYCJR: Your brother Nat [King Cole] was enormously
famous. It required real grit for you to follow your own
path and keep going.
FURT, the electronic duo of Richard Barrett and Paul
Obermayer, who have recorded extensively for psi.
Barrett remarks, “I’d prefer not to see that association
in terms of a disembodied entity like a CD label, but
rather as one among many aspects of my association
with Evan and his work. It means a great deal to me
that what I’m doing, with FURT and in other areas, is
being supported and encouraged by someone with
Evan’s depth of involvement with creative music.”
Guitarist John Russell, another long-time associate
who recently joined the Electro-Acoustic Ensemble,
recounts the making of Hyste, his outstanding solo CD:
“I went down to Whitstable [on the English North Sea
coast] to spend a couple of days recording in St. Peter ’s
Church with Evan and John Edwards. Evan said I
should record some solo improvisations for a CD on
psi while the opportunity was there with the excellent
Adam Skeaping engineering. The result was Hyste and
Evan was involved through the whole process. We
discussed ideas about the cover, sleeve notes and titles.
“I was completely free to choose musical content
and Evan and Adam dealt with the final mix. I think
one of the things about psi is Evan’s attention to the
detail involved in each release and his collaboration
with and understanding of the needs of the musicians
he works with. Having something of my more recent
solo playing on CD and released with such care and
attention makes for a very good feeling and on the
whole I’ve had some good feedback from people who
have heard it. I’m very happy with the whole thing!”
Trumpeter Peter Evans, another recent addition to
the Electro-Acoustic Ensemble, has two solo discs on
psi, More Is More and Nature/Culture. He recalls meeting
Parker around 2004, “…I approached Evan after the set
and he invited me to the place he was staying the next
day. I brought some (not very good) solo music, which
he actually listened to all of, right there with me in the
room, gave some comments, asked me some questions...
the whole thing was pretty funny looking back on it.
We stayed in touch and when I recorded my first solo
disc, I sent him a copy, simply because I thought he
would enjoy it. I couldn’t find anyone to put it out and
told him and he said that he could release it. And ever
since we have developed what Evan jokingly likes to
call an ‘avuncular ’ relationship.”
Asked what he most enjoys about having his own
label, Parker answers in a word: “control”. It’s evident
in the attention to layout and artwork, often with
luminous portrait photography by Caroline Forbes.
With so much new music on psi, a listener might
overlook Parker ’s ongoing interest in more traditional
forms. One psi jewel is German saxophonist Gerd
Dudek’s ’Smatter. Dudek has been Parker ’s sectionmate in Globe Unity Orchestra for decades, but his
own work is little documented. Parker united Dudek
with a first-rate English rhythm section and created
one of the most beautiful mainstream dates of the past
decade, Dudek’s gorgeous tone embellishing “Body
and Soul” and “The Peacocks” with a grace comparable
to Stan Getz. Another recent CD of mainstream interest
is pianist Hans Koller ’s Cry, Want, by a tentet with Bill
Frisell (and liner notes by crime novelist John Harvey).
An orchestration of Jimmy Giuffre’s title tune features
Frisell and Parker with brilliant results.
Parker ’s plans for the future include putting
Dudek and Koller together in a quartet and “the duo
with Misha [Mengelberg] is coming soon and I hope
some sub-groups from the Electro-Acoustic Ensemble’s
tour last year. And a list as long as your arm.” v
FC: Yeah, it does and it continues to be. ...Fortunately I
have learned to let that lie. ...I wrote that song “I’m Not
My Brother, I Am Me”. So the main thing I worry about
is [when someone says] “Oh, you sound just like your
brother.” Oh, thank you very much. Did it sound
GOOD? (Chuckle) ...You know, the club owner is
paying me to sound good and put some people in the
seats. Fortunately over the years I have been able to
build my following. These are my people coming to
hear what I do. And it’s a good feeling. I get great
audiences in Brazil. I can play tiddly winks there I
guess and get over, they like it so well.
TNYCJR: You have
representing jazz.
a
very
strong
feeling
for
FC: It’s like that old expression, just trying to keep the
bebop alive. In my estimation jazz doesn’t get the
respect that it should. ...So I just try to be a first-class
person and carry myself in a respectful manner. I’m
happy to bring this music forward.
TNYCJR: Your feeling is so deep for these songs. That’s
so obvious when a singer has that quality.
FC: They lose their soul to the music. You lose your
soul in the music. You get inside the music. A lot of
people say to me you sing like you were there. And I
say I WAS there. One of the tunes I just recorded, I’m
sure you know it, “M’amselle”. In the studio they said,
you really put yourself in Paris in this song. And I said
I sure did. (Chuckling) “It was midnight, it was Paris
and hey, once again it’s spring.” Just put yourself right
in there. That’s the great part about being a musician
and an entertainer. v
For more information, visit freddycole.com. Cole is at Jazz
Standard Jul. 28th-31st. See Calendar.
• Freddy Cole - Waiter, Ask The Man To Play the Blues
(Dot-Verve, 1964)
• Freddy Cole - The Cole Nobody Knows
(Audiophile, 1977)
• Freddy Cole - I’m Not My Brother, I’m Me
(Sunnyside-HighNote, 1990)
• Freddy Cole - To The Ends of the Earth (Fantasy, 1997)
• Freddy Cole - This Love of Mine (HighNote, 2005)
• Freddy Cole - The Dreamer in Me (Live at Dizzy’s
Club) (HighNote, 2008)
For more information visit emanemdisc.com/psi.html. Artists
performing this month include Agustí Fernández at The
Stone Jul. 12th in duo with Joe Morris and Nate Wooley at
The Stone Jul. 12th and 15th with Adam Lane and as a leader,
Clemente Soto Velez Jul. 18th and I-Beam Jul. 29th and Café
Orwell Jul. 30th, both with James Falzone. See Calendar.
35
CALENDAR
Friday, July 1
• Ron Carter’s Golden Striker Trio with Mulgrew Miller, Russell Malone
Smoke 8, 10 pm $35
• Kenny Garrett Quartet with Benito Gonzalez, Nat Reeves, Ronald Bruner
Dizzy’s Club 7:30, 9:30 pm $35
• Sharel Cassity Quintet
Dizzy’s Club 11:30 pm $15
• The Latin Side of John Coltrane: Conrad Herwig All-Stars with guest Randy Brecker
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $35
êChes Smith, Zeena Parkins, Drew Gress
Blue Note 12:30 am $10
êGerald Clayton Trio with Joe Sanders, Justin Brown
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
• Renee Rosnes Quartet with Rich Perry, Peter Washington, Lewis Nash
Village Vanguard 9, 11 pm $25
êSoulstorm: Ivo Perelman, Daniel Levin; Michaël Attias’ Clinamen Orchestra with
Ralph Alessi, Matt Moran, Sean Conly, Tom Rainey, Joachim Badenhorst, Mark Taylor,
Ben Gerstein, Russ Lossing, John Hébert, Satoshi Takeishi
The Stone 8, 10 pm $10
• Dmitry Baevsky Quartet with Jeb Patton, David Wong, Jason Brown; Orrin Evans
Group with Mark Gross, Marvin Sewell, Dwayne Burno, Vince Ector; Spike Wilner Trio
with Adam Cote, Brian Floody Smalls 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
êCanada Day: Michael Bates Trio with JD Allen, Jeff Davis; The ExPat Ensemble:
Owen Howard, Andrew Rathbun, Dave Smith, Aidan O’Donnell
Cornelia Street Café 9, 10:30 pm $15
• Jerry Bergonzi Quartet with Bruce Barth, Dave Santoro, Devin Drobka
The Kitano 8, 10 pm $25
êDjango in June: Young Lions of Gypsy Jazz with Samson Schmitt, Ludovic Beier,
Doudou Cuillerier, Pierre Blanchard, Andreas Oberg, Brian Torff and guest
Edmar Castaneda
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30
• David Gibson Quartet with Jared Gold, Julius Tolentino, Ed Cherry, Anwar Marshall;
Alan Jay Palmer Band
Fat Cat 10:30 pm 1:30 am
• In The Country: Morten Qvenild, Roger Arntzen, Pål Hausken
Norwegian Seamen’s Church 8 pm
• Old Time Musketry: JP Schlegelmilch, Adam Schneit, Phil Rowan, Max Goldman
Tea Lounge 9, 10:30 pm
• Brandon Lee Trio
Tutuma Social Club 7 pm
• Rale Micic Trio with Corcoran Holt, Rodney Green
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Miles Griffith Group
Lenox Lounge 8:30, 10 pm $20
• Jacam Manricks; Thana Alexa Quintet; Soi Shin Band with Guido Gonzalez,
David Engelhard, Sebastien Ammann, Hyunwoo Han, Spiro Sinigos
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Kayo Hiraki Duo
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Antonio Ciacca
The Bar on Fifth 8 pm
• Nick Gianni’s Evolution
Goodbye Blue Monday 10 pm
• Evan Schwamm Quartet
Cleopatra’s Needle 8 pm
• Hide Tanaka Trio; Kevin Dorn and the BIG 72
The Garage 6:15, 10:45 pm
• Ayako Shirasaki
Bryant Park 12:30 pm
Saturday, July 2
êJoe McPhee, Ken Filiano, Lou Grassi; John Hébert’s Sounds of Love—The Music of
Charles Mingus with Tim Berne, Taylor Ho Bynum, Fred Hersch, Ches Smith
• Roy Ayers Jazz Mafia Symphony Central Park Summerstage 7 pm
• Gary Lucas and Friends
Iridium 8, 10 pm $25
êRez Abbasi Trio with Johannes Weidenmueller, Dan Weiss
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Matt Lavelle and The Blessing with Ras Moshe, Francois Grillot, Bob Hubbard;
Flow Trio: Louie Belogenis, Joe Morris, Charles Downs
University of the Streets 8, 10 pm $10
• Dan Loomis Quartet with Robin Verheyen, Loren Stillman, Jared Schonig;
SPOKE: Justin Wood, Andy Hunter, Dan Loomis, Danny Fischer
• Dan Weiss/Suneera Vyas
Chanddayan Center 7 pm
• Yoni Kretzmer Two-Bass Quartet with Sean Conly, Pascal Niggenkemper, Mike Pride
The Backroom 10 pm
• Richie Vitale Quintet; Carlos Abadie Quintet; Tal Ronen Jam
Fat Cat 7, 10 pm
• Anthony Nelson Group
• Diana Wayburn Ensemble with Nathan Bontrager, Michael Tepper, Michael Paolucci;
Kae Reed
Café Orwell 8 pm
• Liam Sillery Quintet with Matt Blostein, Jesse Stacken, Michael Bates, Vinnie Sperrazza;
Yutaka Uchida; Amir Rubinshtein; Alexander Clough
Miles’ Café 5:30, 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• All Out Jazz: Yael Acher, Keith A Dames, Tove Langoff, John Martin Green,
David Brooks
Nuyorican Poets Café 9 pm $15
• Scot Albertson Trio
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Brandon Sanders Quartet
• Ron Carter’s Golden Striker Trio with Mulgrew Miller, Russell Malone
Smoke 8, 10 pm $35
• Sharel Cassity Quintet
Dizzy’s Club 11:30 pm $15
• The Latin Side of John Coltrane: Conrad Herwig All-Stars with guest Bobby Watson
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
• Mellisa Aldana Quartet with Gordon Au, Joe Lepore, Shinnosuke Takahashi;
Mike Fahn Group with John Hart, Mike McGuirk, Vinson Valega; Orrin Evans Group with
Mark Gross, Marvin Sewell, Dwayne Burno, Vince Ector; Eric Wyatt Group
Smalls 5, 7:30, 10 pm 12:30 am $20
• Jerry Bergonzi Quartet with Bruce Barth, Dave Santoro, Devin Drobka
Edmar Castaneda
• Antonio Ciacca
• Daniel Levin Duo
Downtown Music Gallery 6 pm
• Larry Newcomb Trio; Russ Spiegel Trio; Virginia Mayhew Quartet
The Garage 12, 6:15, 10:45 pm
Sunday, July 3
êLuis Lopes Humanization Quartet with Rodrigo Amado, Aaron and Stefan Gonzalez;
Kirk Knuffke, Stephen Gauci, Kenny Wollesen
• Jaga Jazzist
Le Poisson Rouge 8 pm $20
• Eri Yamamoto Trio with Dave Ambrosio, Ikuo Takeuchi
Cornelia Street Café 8:30 pm $10
• Ruth Brisbane and Jon Roche Trio with Roman Ivanoff, Clifford Barbaro
Smalls 7:30 pm $20
• Peter Leitch/Charles Davis
Walker’s 8 pm
• Terry Waldo’s Gotham City Band; AM FCBB; Brandon Lewis/Renee Cruz Jam
Fat Cat 6, 8:30 pm 12:30 am
• Erika Dagnino with Sarah Bernstein, Steve Dalachinsky, Ras Moshe
Shrine 9 pm
• Gary Lucas and Friends
• The Latin Side of John Coltrane: Conrad Herwig All-Stars with guest Dave Valentin
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30 pm $25
Claudio Roditi
• Antonio Ciacca
• Ben Stapp solo; Erika Dagnino, Sarah Bernstein, Jean Carla Rodea
Downtown Music Gallery 6, 7 pm
• Chris Dingman/Jared Schonig Quartet
Saint Peter’s 5 pm
• Malika Zarra
Blue Note 12:30, 2:30 pm $24.50
• Klezmer Brunch: Michael Winograd, Peter Sokolow, Lauren Brody, David Licht
City Winery 11 am $12
• Elli Fordyce and Trio; David Coss and Trio; Nueva Encarnacion
The Garage 11:30 am 7, 11:30 pm
Monday, July 4
• Karl Berger Stone Workshop Orchestra with Frederika Krier, Miguel Malla, Steve Swell,
Art Bailey, Jeremy Carlstedt, Jorge Sylvester, David Schnug, Stephen Gauci,
Catherine Sikora, Skye Steele, Sylvain Leroux, Thomas Heberer, Patrick Glynn,
Adam Caine, Dominic Lash, David Perrott, Adam Lane, Ingrid Sertso
The Stone 9 pm $20
• Jonathan Batiste
• David Amram and Co. with Kevin Twigg, John de Witt, Adam Amram
• Ehud Asherie solo; Ari Hoenig with Gilad Hekselman, Shai Maestro, Orlando Le Fleming; Spencer Murphy Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
• Fay Victor/Anders Nilsson
55Bar 7 pm
• Maria Neckam Trio with Nir Felder, Thomas Morgan
Bar Next Door 8:30, 10:30 pm $12
• New School Jazz; Billy Kaye Jam Fat Cat 8:30 pm 12:30 am
• Maggie Brown and Trio
For My Sweet 7, 9 pm $10
• Howard Williams Jazz Orchestra; Ben Cliness Trio
The Garage 7, 10:30 pm
• Antonio Ciacca
• Larry Ham
Tuesday, July 5
êThe Heath Brothers: Jimmy and Albert “Tootie” Heath, Jeb Patton, David Wong
êLou Donaldson Quartet
êRuss Lossing, Louie Belogenis, Kenny Wollesen; Angelica Sanchez/Wadada Leo Smith The Stone 8, 10 pm $10
• Dario Boente and Proyecto Sur Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30 pm $20
• Francois Grillot Trio with Catherine Sikora, David Miller; Ned Rothenberg Trio with
Sylvie Courvoisier, Steve Swell University of the Streets 8, 10 pm $10
• Jack Jeffers’ New York Classics Zinc Bar 8, 10, 11:30 pm
• Camila Meza; Freddie Bryant Kaleidoscope Trio with Patrice Blanchard, Willard Dyson;
Alex Hoffman Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
êAmanda Monaco Three with Michael Attias, Sean Conly
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Saul Rubin; Danny Mixon; Greg Glassman Jam
Fat Cat 7, 9 pm 12:30 am
• Bethany Wild with Glafkos Kontemeniotis, Everett Boyd; Isaac Darche with Jon Irabagon,
Sean Wayland, Linda Oh, Jochen Reuckert; Adam Larson with Zubin Hensler, Chris Talio,
Jason Burger
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Michika Fukumori solo
The Kitano 8, 10 pm
• Víctor Prieto
Terraza 7 9 pm
• Valery Ponomarev Big Band; Justin Lees Trio
• Antonio Ciacca
• Nick Di Maria Shrine 6 pm
• Larry Ham
Wednesday,
July 6
êRas Moshe, Andrew Drury, Anders Nilsson, Ken Filiano; Joe McPhee/Steve Swell
êFrank Wess; Rafi D’lugoff; Ned Goold Jam
êBilly Fox’ Blackbirds and Bullets with Gary Pickard, Miki Hirose, Matt Parker,
Julianne Carney, Evan Mazunik, James Ilgenfritz, Arei Sekiguchi;
Harris Eisenstadt September Trio with Ellery Eskelin, Angelica Sanchez
• Osmany Paredes Quartet with Yunior Terry, Ludwig Alfonso, Yusnier Sanchez
êCylinder: Darren Johnston, Aram Shelton, Lisa Mezzacappa, Kjell Nordeson
Barbès 8 pm $10
• Jazzmobile: Arturo O’Farrill
Grant’s Tomb 7 pm
• Hot Club of Cowtown
Damrosch Park 7:30 pm
• Jimmy Bruno solo; Mike Ledonne Trio with Dwayne Burno, Joe Farnsworth;
Bruce Harris Quartet with Yasushi Nakamura, Jack Glottman, Aaron Kimmel
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
• David Coss Quartet with John Chin, Marcus McLaurine, McClenty Hunter
The Kitano 8, 10 pm
• Sean Smith Quartet with John Ellis, John Hart, Russell Meissner
55Bar 7 pm
• Jerry Costanzo and Trio
Metropolitan Room 9:30 pm $20
• Catarina dos Santos with Marcos Vigio, Leco Reis, Robert di Pietro; Sebastian Cruz and
The Cheap Landscape with Stomu Takeishi, Ted Poor
Cornelia Street Café 8:30, 10 pm $10
• Mamiko Watanabe; Tom Tallitsch; Mark Miller Septet with Sean Harkness, Cliff Lyons,
Anton Denner, Nicki Denner, Gary Wang, William “Beaver” Bausch
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Nicole Zuriatis Group
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Andrew Gutauskas/Vito Chiavuzzo Group
Brooklyn Lyceum 9:30 pm
• Greg Diamond
Flute Gramercy 8 pm
• Aki Yamamoto Trio
Flute Bar 8 pm
• Edy Martínez Quartet with Samuel Torres, Ricky Rodríguez, Ludwig Afonso
Terraza 7 9 pm
• Emily Wolf
Caffe Vivaldi 8:30 pm
• Lionel Loueke Trio; Edmar Castaneda Trio with guest Andrea Tierra
Madison Square Park 6 pm
• Antonio Ciacca
• The ORourkestra
Zinc Bar 8, 10, 11:30 pm
• Mark Devine Trio; Hot House
• Score!
Shrine 6 pm
• Larry Ham
êJunior Mance/Hide Tanaka
Saint Peter’s 1 pm $7
Thursday, July 7
êRené Marie with Kevin Bales, Rodney Jordan, Quentin Baxter
• Spike Wilner/Joel Press; Jeff Williams Group with John O’Gallagher, Duane Eubanks,
John Hébert; Carlos Abadie Quintet with Jonathan Lefcoski, Luca Santaniello,
Joe Sucato, Jason Stewart
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
êBrandon Ross solo; Elliott Sharp/Mary Halvorson
• Nicki Parrott Trio with John DiMartino, Tim Horner
The Kitano 8, 10 pm
David Rubenstein Atrium 8:30 pm
• Shushmo: Tareq Abboushi/Hector Morales; Petr Cancura Lonesome Quartet with
Kirk Knuffke, Garth Stevenson, Robert Dipietro
• Gregorio Uribe Big Band
Zinc Bar 9, 11 pm 1 am
• Brent Canter Trio with Adam Klipple, Greg Ritchie
• Emilio Teubal Quartet with Sam Sadigursky, Moto Fukushima, John Hadfield;
Parias Ensemble: Daniel Reyes, Luis Lanes
Douglass Street Music Collective 9 pm $10
• Melvin Van Peebles with Laxative Zebulon 9, 10:30 pm
• Maral Yakshieva solo
University of the Streets 8 pm
• Tal Ronen Quartet; Saul Rubin Fat Cat 7, 10 pm
• Abraham Ovadia Trio with Michael Feinberg, Noel Brennan
• Yvonnick Prenne Organ Quartet Café Orwell 8 pm
• Aline Almeida; Ayumi Ishito QuintetMiles’ Café 7, 8:30 pm $19.99
• Jo-Yu Chen Trio
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Michika Fukumori Trio
• Parisi/O’Farrill/Lawitts Trio Shrine 7 pm
• Antonio Ciacca
• Ben Perowsky MSO with guest TK Wonder
Fort Greene Park 6 pm
• Harlem Speaks: Warren Vaché Jazz Museum in Harlem 6:30 pm
• Rick Stone Trio; Bossa Brasil: Mauricio de Souza, Bob Rodriguez, Debbie Kennedy
• Elio Villafranca
World Financial Center 5:30 pm
• Mike Moreno Ensemble
Citigroup Center Plaza 12:30 pm
• Larry Ham
Friday, July 8
êThe Music of Horace Silver: Harold Mabern, Jeremy Pelt, Ronnie Cuber, Nat Reeves,
Joe Farnsworth
Smoke 8, 10 pm $30
êFrank Kimbrough Trio with Jay Anderson, Matt Wilson
• Jazzmobile: Jonathan Batiste Marcus Garvey Park 7 pm
êRed Rain Trio: Joe Hertenstein, Masabumi Kikuchi, Pascal Niggenkemper;
Ken Vandermark, Steve Swell, Sean Conly, Chad Taylor
• Carmen Lundy
êMike Pride/Robert Glasper
• Barbez; Anthony Coleman
Le Poisson Rouge 7:30 pm $12
• Brent Canter Group with Noah Preminger, Adam Klipple, Matt Clohesy, Greg Ritchie;
Myron Walden Group; Lawrence Leathers Jam
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
• Amanda Baisinger with Ryan Scott, Pete Rende, Chris Morrisey, Dave Burnett
• Tribute to Ralph Mercado with MioSotis, Tito Puente Jr., Ray Sepulveda,
Tony Vega, Bobby Allende
êEJ Strickland Quintet with Jaleel Shaw, Marcus Strickland, George Colligan,
Dezron Douglas
Jazz Gallery 9, 10:30 pm $20
• Dave Allen Trio with Drew Gress, Ted Poor
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Billy Kaye; David Weiss Jam
• Marya Lawrence and Treasure Island with Kid Lucky, Erik Lawrence, Brian Charette,
Rene Hart, Neil Ochoa
• Antonio Parisi NY South Vertigo Band with Livio Almeida, Scott Colberg,
Adam Mednard
• Alex Lane Group
• Oscar Penas; Cara Campanelli/Adam Birnbaum; Rodrigo Bonelli Group with
Jason Hunter, Alex Gordeev, Mike Shea, Jeff McAuliffe
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Mika
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Jun Miyake Quartet
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
• Antonio Ciacca
• Tessa Souter
55Bar 6 pm
• Evan Schwam Quartet; Dre Barnes Project
• Larry Ham
• Andrea Brachfeld
600 Third Avenue 12:30 pm
Saturday, July 9
êFight the Big Bull: Bob Miller, Reggie Pace, Bryan Hooten, Jason Scott, John Lilley,
Matthew White, Cameron Ralston, Pinson Chanselle; Ken Vandermark/Chad Taylor
• Ari Hoenig Quartet with Gilad Hekselman, Shai Maestro, Orlando Le Fleming
êMatana Roberts’ Coin Coin with Daniel Levin, Shoko Nagai, Thomson Kneeland,
Tomas Fujiwara
êCylinder/Holus Bolus Double Quartet: Darren Johnston, Aram Shelton,
Lisa Mezzacappa, Kjell Nordeson, Josh Sinton, Jonathan Goldberger, Peter Bitenc,
Mike Pride
• Matt Bauder’s Day in Pictures with Justin Walter, Kris Davis, Jason Ajemian, Chad Taylor;
Pedro Giraudo Sextet
Barbès 5, 8 pm $10
• Kenny Wessel Trio with Matt Pavolka, Russell Meisner
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Aaron Johnson Love Unlimited Trio with Akua Dixon, Salim Washington;
Aaron Johnson Quintet with Salim Washington, Courtney Bryan, Robert Sabin, Malik
Washington
êUnderground Horns
Nublu 11:30 pm
• Richie Fells Quartet
• Groover Trio; Raphael D’Lugoff Quintet; Alex Hoffman Quartet
• Jonghun Song Sextet with Tom Gershwin, Evan Crane, Rodrigo Recabarren
• Debbie Dean with Jim Whitney, John Mettam
• Hiroshi Yamazaki; Ben Winkelman Trio with Desmond White, Andrew Gander;
Dee Cassella; Matt Panayides
Miles’ Café 4, 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Masahiro Yamamoto Trio; The World Chocolate
Tomi Jazz 8, 11 pm $10
• The Tehran-Dakar Brothers: Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi, Derek Nievergelt,
Damon Banks, Alejandro Castellano, Satish, Doron Lev
Michiko Studios 7:30 pm $10
• Alma Moyo
Terraza 7 10:30 pm
• Hot House Steven Gluz Band Cleopatra’s Needle 8 pm
• Erika Dagnino/Blaise Siwula
Café Orwell 8:30 pm
êThe Music of Horace Silver: Harold Mabern, Jeremy Pelt, Ronnie Cuber, Nat Reeves,
Joe Farnsworth
Smoke 8, 10 pm $30
êFrank Kimbrough Trio with Jay Anderson, Matt Wilson
• Carmen Lundy
• Jordan Young Organ Trio with Joe Sucato, Brian Charette; Chris Flory Trio;
Myron Walden Group; Stacy Dillard Trio with Diallo House, Ismail Lawal
Smalls 4, 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
• Antonio Ciacca
• Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble with guests José James, Pharoahe Monch
Annunciation Park 5 pm
• Fukushi Tainaka Trio; Champian Fulton Trio; Virginia Mayhew Quartet
The Garage 12, 6:15, 10:45 pm
Sunday, July 10
êLawnmower: Jim Hobbs, Steve Fell, Pete Fitzpatrick, Luther Gray;
Cylinder: Darren Johnston, Aram Shelton, Lisa Mezzacappa, Kjell Nordeson
êBucky Pizzarelli/Ed Laub Duo; Grant Stewart Quartet with David Hazeltine, Joel Forbes,
Phil Stewart
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm $20
• New Field: Pascal Niggenkemper, Robin Verheyen, Scott DuBois, Jeff Davis;
Nathaniel Smith Quartet with Jake Saslow, Sam Minaie, Toru Dodo
• Katie Bull’s Freak Miracle with Landon Knoblock, Joe Fonda, George Schuller,
Jeff Lederer; Greg Ward; Nick Gianni’s Evolution
Nublu 9 pm
• Terry Waldo’s Gotham City Band; Jordan Young Group; Brandon Lewis/
Renee Cruz Jam
• Bill O’Connell Latin Jazz Allstars Birdland 9, 11 pm $30
• Xavier Davis
• Joe Morris; Brad Farberman, Dave Sewelson, Josh Sinton; Michael Attias, Sean Conly,
Mike Pride; Ras Moshe, Shayna Dulberger, Dave Miller, Chris Welcome The Local 269 7 pm $10
• Peter Leitch/Harvie S
Walker’s 8 pm
• Erika Dagnino with Blaise Siwula, Ken Filiano, Sarah Bernstein;
Michael Durek’s SK Orchestra ABC No Rio 7 pm $5
• Senri Oe; Lindsay Mendez and the Marco Paguia Trio; Faustina Abad Quintet
Miles’ Café 5, 7, 8:30 pm $19.99
• Noam Wisenberg; Aubrey Johnson/Jason Yeager
Caffe Vivaldi 7:15, 8:30 pm
• John Wriggle Orchestra; New Tricks Shrine 8, 10 pm
• Carmen Lundy
• Yukari/Carlo Costa; Kyoko Kitamura/Jen Baker
• Rob Scheps Core-tet
• Lew Tabackin Group with Boris Kozlov, Shinnosuke Takahashi and guest
Joe Magnarelli
Riverbank State Park 5 pm
• Kuni Mikami
Blue Note 12:30, 2:30 pm $24.50
• Debbie Deane
Douglass Street Music Collective 2 pm
• Camila Meza Trio
North Square Lounge 12:30, 2 pm
• Klezmer Brunch: Alon Nechustan’s Talat
• Lou Caputo Quartet; David Coss and Trio; Joonsam Lee Trio
Monday, July 11
êOliver Lake Trio with Santi Debriano, Pheeroan akLaff
Clemente Soto Velez 8 pm $10
êWarren Vaché and John Allred with Harry Allen Quartet
Feinstein’s 8 pm $20
êMingus Orchestra
ê40Twenty: Vinnie Sperraza, Jacob Sacks, Jacob Garchik, Dave Ambrosio
Barbès 7 pm $10
The Stone 9 pm $20
êTrio Sabir: Michael Wimberly, William Parker, Sabir Mateen; William Parker’s The
Essence of Ellington with Dave Burrell, Steve Swell, Darius Jones, Rob Brown,
Sabir Mateen, Dave Sewelson, Willie Applewhite
• Ned Goold; Billy Kaye Jam
Fat Cat 9 pm 12:30 am
• David White Jazz Orchestra
• Charenee Wade
Zinc Bar 7 pm $7
• Angela Bingham Trio with Yotam Silberstein, Marco Panascia
• Xavier Davis
• Kamal Abdul Alim/Eric Wyatt Group with Benito Gonzalez, Shinnosuke Takashi,
Motoki Mihara
• Scot Albertson/Dr. Joel Utterback Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Erika Dagnino/Ras Moshe
Nightingale Lounge 7 pm
• Howard Williams Jazz Orchestra; Mayu Saeki Quartet
• Isaac ben Ayala
Tuesday, July 12
êJoe Morris/Agustí Fernández; Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Nate Wooley, Joe McPhee,
Joe Morris
êMarcus Roberts Trio with Rodney Jordan, Jason Marsalis
• Kimberly Thompson Trio
Dizzy’s Club 11 pm $15
êSam Yahel Trio with Matt Penman, Jochen Rueckert
• Pablo Ziegler’s From Piazzolla to Ziegler with guest Sandra Luna
êJames Ilgenfritz’ The Glossary of Musical Terms with Douglas Detrick, Sam Kulik,
Ingrid Laubrock, Yoni Kretzmer, Jackson Moore, Lily Maase, Brad Farberman,
Terrence McManus, Carl Testa, Sarah Bernstein, Jason Hwang, Anne Rhodes,
Evan Mazunik, Vincent Sperrazza, John O’Brien; William Parker’s The Essence of
Ellington with Dave Burrell, Steve Swell, Darius Jones, Rob Brown, Sabir Mateen,
Dave Sewelson, Willie Applewhite University of the Streets 8, 10 pm $10
• Lainie Cooke with Onaje Allan Gumbs, Elias Bailey, Matt Wilson
• Marianne Solivan Duo; Dave Gibson Group with Julius Tolentino, Jared Gold,
Anwar Marshall; Ken Fowser/Behn Gillece Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
• Tine Bruhn with Lars Haake, Joel Holmes, Luques Curtis, Joe Blaxx; Rashied Ali Tribute
Band with Greg Murphy, Josh Evans, Joris Teepe, Lawrence Clark, Eric McPherson Zinc Bar 7, 9, 10:30 pm 12 am
• Palmetto Bug Stompers
• Saul Rubin; Peter Brainin Latin Jazz Workshop; Greg Glassman Jam
• Xavier Davis
êDeborah Latz; Joe Alterman
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30 pm $19.99
• Noriko Tomikawa Trio
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Jack Wilkins/Freddie Bryant
Bella Luna 8 pm
The Kitano 8, 10 pm
• Mark Capon Trio
Thalia Café 8 pm
• Mike Dease Big Band; Paul Francis Trio
• Camille Thurman • Ilia Skibinsky
• Isaac ben Ayala
Shrine 7 pm
Pier 45 6:30 pm
Wednesday, July 13
êIngebrigt Håker Flaten/Joe McPhee; Tim Berne, Michael Formanek, Ches Smith
êJazzmobile: Houston Person
Grant’s Tomb 7 pm
• Christian McBride and Inside Straight
Madison Square Park 7 pm
êDarius Jones Trio with Cooper-Moore, Rakalam Bob Moses
Barbès 8 pm $10
• Jane Bunnett/Hilario Duran
êFat Cat Big Band; Orrin Evans Captain Black Big Band
Zinc Bar 7, 9, 10:30 pm 12 am
êIvo Perelman Quartet with Matthew Shipp, Joe Morris, Luther Gray
Issue Project Room 8 pm $10
êRebirth Brass Band
South Street Seaport 10 pm
• Bryn Roberts solo; Yotam Silberstein Trio; Craig Wuepper’s Earsight! with Peter Zak,
Mike DiRubbo, Dwayne Burno Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
• Jeb Patton Trio with David Wong, Pete Van Nostrand
The Kitano 8, 10 pm
• The Imp Duo: Mossa Bildner/Connie Crothers; Beaux Art Brass Quintet:
Herb Robertson, Stephen Haynes, Mark Taylor, Steve Swell, Ben Stapp
• Rafi D’lugoff; Adam Larson; Ned Goold Jam
• Erika Dagnino/Ras Moshe
Goodbye Blue Monday 9 pm
• Thomas Heflin
Brooklyn Lyceum 9:30 pm $10
• Bob Rodriguez Trio; Chantale Gagne Quartet; Jonathan Parker
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Yuakari’s Spicepot
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Brian Villegas
Flute Gramercy 8 pm
• Bossa Brasil: Mauricio de Souza, Alan Chaubert, John Lenis
Flute Bar 8 pm
• Frente Cumbiero
Terraza 7 9 pm
• Matt Grossman Shrine 7 pm
• Xavier Davis
• Le Pompe Attack; The Anderson Brothers
• Isaac ben Ayala
• Aaron Weinstein/Tedd Firth
37
Thursday, July 14
êHouston Person Quartet with Richard Wyands, Ray Drummond, Chip White
• Airto with D Booker, Lew Soloff, Mark Egan, Jose Neto, Helio Alves
êDon Friedman solo; Helen Sung Group; Josh Evans Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
êTim Berne/Kris Davis Duo; Kris Davis, Ingrid Laubrock, Tyshawn Sorey
• Tim Kuhl’s Doomsayer with Michael Formanek, Ben Gerstein, Jonathan Goldberger,
Frantz Loriot, Jonathan Moritz Cornelia Street Café 8:30 pm $10
• Kermit Ruffins BBQ Swingers Hiro Ballroom 8 pm $35
• Mahavishnu Project: Glenn Alexander, Jesse Gress, Peter Brendler, Gregg Bendian
• Laura Hull Quintet with Patrick Firth, Vic Juris, Steve LaSpina, Matt Kane
The Kitano 8, 10 pm
• Caravan Palace
• Kinesis Trio: Joseph Lepore, Eric Person, Shinnosuke Takahashi
• Paris Wright; Greg Glassman/Stacy Dillard
Fat Cat 7, 10 pm
• Claudio Marquez with Patriq Moody, Francesco Marcocci, Damion Corideo, Joel Mateo
êDavid White Jazz Orchestra with Andrew Gould, Omar Daniels, Sam Taylor, Sam Dillon,
Stephen Plekan, Miki Hirose, Volker Goetze, Alicia Rau, Michael Irwin, Melissa Gardiner,
Rick Parker, Barry Cooper, Rob Statel, Nick Consol, Doug Drewes; Napua Davoy
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30 pm $19.99
• Tomoko Omura Group
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Eric Kurimski
Terraza 7 9 pm
• Keith Ingham Trio
êBen Winkelman Trio Shrine 7 pm
• Xavier Davis
• Michael Blake Trio with guest Bushra Rehman
• Dave Kain Group; Alex Stein/Matt Brown Quartet
• Jonathan Batiste Band
• Isaac ben Ayala
Friday, July 15
êSteve Wilson Trio with Renee Rosnes, Peter Washington
• Mike Lee and New Tricks with Ted Chubb, Kellen Harrison, Shawn Baltazor;
Rick Germanson Quartet with Eddie Henderson, Paul Gill, Lewis Nash; Spike Wilner
Trio with Adam Cote, Brian FloodySmalls 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
êNate Wooley Quintet with Josh Sinton, Matt Moran, Dan Peck, Harris Eisenstadt;
Adam Lane’s Full Throttle Orchestra with Nate Wooley, Herb Robertson, Avram Fefer,
David Bindman, Matt Bauder, Reut Regev, Tim Vaughn, Igal Foni
êMatt Mitchell with Tim Berne, Oscar Noriega, Mary Halvorson, John Hébert,
Tomas Fujiwara
• The Hendrix Project: George Colligan, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Jerome Harris,
Donald Edwards
Iridium 8, 10 pm $27.50
• Yosvany Terry Quintet
Smoke 8, 10 pm $30
• Avery Sharpe Quintet with Craig Handy, Onaje Allen Gumbs, Yoron Israel, Maya Sharpe
Rubin Museum 7 pm $20
êArmitage Gone! Dance with Vijay Iyer, Liberty Ellman, Okkyung Lee, Kassa Overall
Central Park Summerstage 8 pm
• Tillery: Rebecca Martin, Gretchen Parlato, Becca Stevens
The Jazz Gallery 9, 10:30 pm $20
• Jake Saslow Trio with Matt Clohesy, Tommy Crane
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Jazzmobile: Gregory Generet Marcus Garvey Park 7 pm
êUnderground Horns; Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra with Mazz Swift,
Andy Laster, Petr Cancura, Curtis Hasselbring, Ron Caswell, Avi Bortnick,
Joe Fitzgerald, Rob Garcia
Barbès 8, 10 pm $10
• Carl Bartlett Jr. Quartet
• Samba De Gringo
Fat Cat 10:30 pm
• Tom Thorndike Trio; Ed Cherry Trio with Kyle Koehler, McClenty Hunter
Miles’ Café 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Michika Fukumori Duo
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Fatum Brothers Quintet
• Chía´s Dance Party
Terraza 7 10:30 pm
• Yaacov Mayman Quartet
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
• Kris Davis and guests
Dizzy’s Club 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $35
Dizzy’s Club 12:45 am $15
• Xavier Davis
• Ryan Anselmi Quintet; Kevin Dorn and the BIG 72
• Isaac ben Ayala
• Linda Ipanema and The Dixie Cats600 Third Avenue 12:30 pm
Saturday, July 16
êMario Pavone Arc Suite Music with Tony Malaby, Dave Ballou, Craig Taborn,
Michael Pavone, Matt Wilson
êTribute to Illinois Jacquet: Harlem Renaissance Orchestra with guest Billy Harper
• John Zorn Improv Night
êAndrew Drury’s Content Provider with Briggan Krauss, Chris Speed; Darius Jones’
Grass Roots with Alex Harding, Sean Conly, Chad Taylor
êMatt Bauder’s Day in Pictures with Matt Mitchell, Michael Bates, Tomas Fujiwara;
Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica Quartet: Brian O’Neill, Geni Skendo, Jon Singer, Kendall Eddy
Barbès 8, 10 pm $10
• George Colligan Trio with Boris Kozlov, Donald Edwards
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
êJaleel Shaw Quartet with Lawrence Fields, Hans Glawischnig, Justin Faulkner
• Judith Insell; Ras Moshe, Joel Freedman, Roy Campbell, Dave Ross, Shayna Dulberger;
Hans Tammen’s Iron Foundry
Brecht Forum 8 pm $10
• Lawrence Clark; Simona Premazzi; Ryan Berg Jam
• Dylan Meek Trio
• Marc McDonald; Chris Davidson Quartet with Cory Sterling, Chris Nolte; Dave Kain
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Assaf Ben-Nun/Arthur Sadowsky Project; Abe Ovadia Trio
Tomi Jazz 8, 11 pm $10
• Ken Simon Quartet
êSteve Wilson Trio with Renee Rosnes, Peter Washington
• Nobuki Takamen with Ayako Higuchi, John Lenis, Yutaka Uchida; Dwayne Clemons
with Josh Benko, Sacha Perry, Murray Wall, Jimmy Wormworth;
Rick Germanson Quartet with Eddie Henderson, Paul Gill, Lewis Nash;
Ian Hendrickson-Smith Group Smalls 4, 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
• Yosvany Terry Quintet
Smoke 8, 10 pm $30
êArmitage Gone! Dance with Vijay Iyer, Liberty Ellman, Okkyung Lee, Kassa Overall
Central Park Summerstage 8 pm
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
• Michael Feinberg with Shane Endsley, Noah Preminger, Nir Felder, Julian Shore,
Daniel Platzman
Dizzy’s Club 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $35
Dizzy’s Club 12:45 am $15
• Xavier Davis
• Jeff Newell’s New-Trad Quartet The Waterfront Museum 1 pm
• Daniela Schaechter Trio; Brooks Hartell Trio; Tim Price/Ryan Anselmi’s Tenor Madness
The Garage 12, 6:15, 10:45 pm
Sunday, July 17
êThe Fringe: George Garzone, John Lockwood, Bob Gullotti
MoMA Sculpture Garden 7 pm
êOther Dimension in Music: Roy Campbell, Daniel Carter, William Parker, Charles Downs
and guest Fay Victor
55Bar 10 pm
• Bill O’Connell Latin Jazz Allstars Birdland 9, 11 pm $30
êSam Trapchak’s Put Together Funny with Greg Ward, Tom Chang, Arthur Vint
êAdam Kolker, John Hébert, Billy Mintz
Sycamore 8:30 pm $10
• Ruth Brisbane and Jon Roche Trio with Roman Ivanoff, Saul Rubin, Clifford Barbaro;
Charles Owens Quartet with Jeremy Manasia, Hans Glawischnig, Joe Strasser
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm $20
• Matt Lavelle, James Keepnews, Francois Grillot, Dave Miller; Pascal Niggenkemper
Shoko Nagai, Yukari Watanabe Brecht Forum 8 pm $10
• Terry Waldo’s Gotham City Band; Alex Hoffman Tina Brooks/Jackie McLean Project;
Brandon Lewis/Renee Cruz Jam Fat Cat 6, 9 pm 12:30 am
• SOM; Nick Gianni’s Evolution Nublu 9, 10 pm
• Peter Leitch/Sean Smith
Walker’s 8 pm
• Igor Von De Heilichtson III; Frantz Loriot, Sean Ali, Carlo Costa
ABC No Rio 7 pm $5
• Jason Prover; Abe Ovadia QuartetCaffe Vivaldi 7:15, 8:30 pm
• Shrine Big Band
Shrine 9 pm
• Xavier Davis
• Simon Jermyn, Christof Knoche, Joe Hertenstein
• Dave Cook Trio
• Dave Valentin
Orchard Beach Stage 12 pm
• Tammy McCann
Blue Note 12:30, 2:30 pm $24.50
• Beat Kaestli with Victor Prieto, Gary Wang North Square Lounge 12:30, 2 pm
• Klezmer Brunch: Oran Etkin
• Ben Healy Trio; David Coss and Trio; Masami Ishikawa Trio
Monday, July 18
êMingus Big Band
The Stone 9 pm $20
• Tammy McCann Quintet
êErik Deutsch/Allison Miller Quartet with Marty Ehrlich, Trevor Dunn
êPositive Knowledge: Ijeoma and Oluyemi Thomas, Michael Wimberly; Kyoko Kitamura,
Jim Staley, Nate Wooley
Clemente Soto Velez 7 pm $10
• Stephanie Stone; Bern Nix with Francois Grillot, Jackson Krall
êBrian Charette Organ Sextette
55Bar 10 pm
• Avi Rothbard solo; Ari Hoenig Quartet with Gilad Hekselman, Shai Maestro;
Spencer Murphy Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
• Corin Stiggal; Billy Kaye Jam Fat Cat 9 pm 12:30 am
• Yaozeki Big Band
• Spike Wilner
• Jacob Varmus Quartet
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Magos Herrera Trio with Nir Felder, Ricky Rodriguez
• Camila Meza
Zinc Bar 7 pm $7
• Sakofa Soulz
• Howard Williams Jazz Orchestra; Kenny Shanker Quartet
• Armen Donelian
Tuesday, July 19
êJazz in July - Swing, Swing, Swing!: Marilyn Maye, Bucky Pizzarelli, Houston Person,
Ken Peplowski, Aaron Weinstein, Bill Charlap, Jay Leonhart, Dennis Mackrell
92nd Street Y 8 pm $25-65
êLouis Hayes Quintet
êFred Hersch Trio with John Hébert, Eric McPherson
• Ben Williams & Sound Effect; Pedro Giraudo Jazz Orchestra
92YTribeca 8 pm $12
• Earl Klugh
• Tierney Sutton Band with Christian Jacob, Kevin Axt, Ralph Humphrey
• Robert Rodriguez Trio
• Animation: Bob Belden, Tim Hagans, Jordan Gheen, Jacob Smith, Matt Young
• Mike Longo Trio
NYC Baha’i Center 8, 9:30 pm $15
• Tammy McCann/Bruce Barth; Jerome Sabbagh Group with Matt Brewer, Mark Ferber;
Alex Hoffman Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
• Moment to Moment Trio: Deborah Latz, Hendrik Meurkens, Yoshi Waki
Cornelia Street Café 6 pm $15
• Pete McCann with John O’Gallagher, Henry Hey, Matt Clohesy, Jordan Perlson
• Jen Shyu; Angelica Sanchez
Korzo 9, 10:30 pm $5
• Jeffrey Roden; Gyan Riley
• David Lopato with Marty Ehrlich, James Shipp, Ratzo Harris, Richie Barshay;
Max Johnson Trio with Kirk Knuffke, Ziv Ravitz
• Saul Rubin; Don Hahn; Greg Glassman Jam
• JD Walter Quartet
Zinc Bar 9, 10:30 pm 12 am
• Hetty Kate Quartet with Ben Winkelman, Tal Ronen, Dan Aran; Paul Carlon;
Ahreum Hanyou/Jesse Choy
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Miki Yoshitake Trio
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Pablo Mayor Quartet with David Hertzberg, Néstor Gómez, Franco Pinna
Terraza 7 9 pm
• Spike Wilner
• Jack Wilkins/Carl Barry
Bella Luna 8 pm
The Kitano 8, 10 pm
• Lou Caputo Not So Big Band; Aaron Burnett Quartet
• Armen Donelian
Wednesday, July 20
êJazz in July - The Key Players: Kenny Barron, Bill Mays, Bill Charlap, Bruce Barth,
Peter Washington, Willie Jones III 92nd Street Y 8 pm $25-65
êThe Thirteenth Assembly: Taylor Ho Bynum, Tomas Fujiwara, Mary Halvorson,
Jessica Pavone; Bizingas: Brian Drye, Kirk Knuffke, Jonathan Goldberger, Ches Smith
êJazzmobile: Wycliffe Gordon
Grant’s Tomb 7 pm
êEllery Eskelin
Barbès 8 pm $10
• Alexander Turnquist; Slow Six The Stone 8, 10 pm $10
êJanice Friedman Trio with Ed Howard, Victor Lewis
The Kitano 8, 10 pm
• Sebastian Noelle’s Koan with Loren Stillman, George Colligan, Thomson Kneeland,
Tony Moreno
• Jonathan Lefcoski solo; Tom Guarna Quartet; Simona Premazzi and The Intruders with
Stacy Dillard, Darrell Green, Ryan Berg
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
• Melissa Stylianou with Pete McCann, Gary Wang, Jamie Reynolds, Rodney Green
55Bar 7 pm
• Eric Comstock/Barbara Fasano Jazz Museum in Harlem 7 pm
• Rafi D’lugoff; Billy Kaye; Ned Goold Jam
• Dorian Devins Quartet
Flute Gramercy 8 pm
• Alicia Morrisey
Flute Bar 8 pm
• PJ Rasmussen; Max Cudworth; YoungJoo Song Trio
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Blue Vipers of Brooklyn
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Edy Martínez Quartet with Samuel Torres, Ricky Rodríguez, Ludwig Afonso
Terraza 7 9 pm
• Joe Alterman Trio
• Earl Klugh
• Animation: Bob Belden, Tim Hagans, Jordan Gheen, Jacob Smith, Matt Young
• Spike Wilner
• Bernal/Eckroth/Ennis; Joel Perry Trio
• Faiz Lamouri Shrine 6 pm
• Armen Donelian
• Susan Pereira and Sabor Brasil 101 Park Avenue 12:30 pm
• Bucky Pizzarelli/Ed Laub
Thursday, July 21
êJazz in July - Summer Serenade, The Music of Benny Carter: Mary Stallings,
Phil Woods, Jon Gordon, Harry Allen, Jimmy Greene, Gary Smulyan, Bill Charlap,
Peter Washington, Kenny Washington
êPat Martino Quartet with John David Simon, Lucas Brown, Shawn Hill Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30 pm $30
• TIN/BAG: Kris Tiner/Mike Baggetta; Trio Caveat: Jonathan Moritz, John Mclellan,
James Ilgenfritz, Mat Maneri
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music 8 pm $15
êThe New Mellow Edwards: Curtis Hasselbring, Chris Speed, Trevor Dunn, Ted Poor
Barbès 10 pm $10
• Ehud Asherie solo; Dayna Stephens Group with Mike Moreno, Taylor Eigsti,
Kiyoshi Kitagawa; Kendrick Scott; Carlos Abadie Quintet with Jonathan Lefcoski,
Luca Santaniello, Joe Sucato, Jason Stewart
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
• Dave Schnitter; Jojo
Fat Cat 7, 10 pm
• James Shipp Trio with Mike LaValle, Rogerio Boccato
• Tom Chang Quartet with Greg Ward, Matt Clohesy, Rob Garcia
• John Benítez and Friends
Terraza 7 9 pm
• Michael Harrison; Nurit Tilles
• Evgeny Sivtzov Quartet with Stas Dolzhkov, Dan Loomis
The Kitano 8, 10 pm
• Danny Sher Sextet with Peter Schlamb, Jeremy Viner, Travis Reuter, Red Wierenga,
Evan Gregor
• Jazz Patrol: Roy Suter, Nick Stefanacci, Gene Torres, Eric Braverman;
Billy White Group; E.B.E.R.T
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Yuko Okamoto Quartet
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Faiz Lamouri Quintet
• Dan Furman Trio
• Earl Klugh
• Spike Wilner
• Charlie Burnham Trio with guest Tara Betts
• Joe Saylor and Friends; Dylan Meek Trio
• Rodrigo Bonelli Group; Eric PierceShrine 6, 8 pm
• Akiko Tsuruga Quartet with Frank Wess
• Armen Donelian
Friday, July 22
êDavid Hazeltine Quintet with Eddie Henderson, Mike DiRubbo, George Mraz,
Billy Drummond
Smoke 8, 10 pm $30
• Margarent Leng Tan; Richard Teitelbaum
êCarlo DeRosa’s Cross-Fade with Mark Shim, Vijay Iyer, Marcus Gilmore
êJosh Sinton solo; Tomas Fujiwara and the Hook-up with Brian Settles,
Jonathan Finlayson, Mary Halvorson, Danton Boller; New Trio: Frantz Loriot, Sean Ali,
Carlo Costa
Douglass Street Music Collective 8, 9, 10 pm $10
• Kerry Politzer Quartet with Alex Norris, Paul Beaudry, Danny Fischer;
George Colligan Group with Tom Guarna, Boris Kozlov, Rudy Royston;
Lawrence Leathers Jam
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
êDarius Jones Quartet with Matt Mitchell, Trevor Dunn, Ches Smith
I-Beam 8 pm $10
• Ed Cherry Quartet
Fat Cat 10:30 pm
• Lafayette Harris Group
êJazzmobile: Yosvany Terry
Marcus Garvey Park 7 pm
• Mike Moreno Group
• Joyce Breach Trio with Jon Weber, Neal Miner
• Bonnie Kane/Chris Welcome; Harvey Valdes/Damion Reid; Welf Dorr, Ben Stapp,
Noel Brennan
Café Orwell 8 pm
• Paul Bollenback Trio with Joseph Lepore, McClenty Hunter
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Kelley Suttenfield with Michael Cabe, Tony Romano, Matt Aronoff, Brian Adler;
Mala Waldron; Joe Pino Quartet Miles’ Café 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Gary Negbaur
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Tom Csatari’s Ecotone
• Cumbiagra: Brian Glashow, Brian Lazarus, George Saenz, Rafael Gomez
Terraza 7 10:30 pm
• Marc Devine Quartet
• Earl Klugh
êMarcus Gilmore and guests
• Spike Wilner
• Austin Walker Trio; Jean Caze TrioThe Garage 6:15, 10:45 pm
• Armen Donelian
• Eric Person and Metamorphosis 600 Third Avenue 12:30 pm
Saturday, July 23
• Warren Chiasson Quartet Tribute To George Shearing with Andy Laverne, Jon Burr, Jimmy Madison
êLaurie Monahan; Min Xiao-Fen, Jane Ira Bloom, Jin Hi Kim
• Ben Monder Trio with Gary Versace, Ted Poor
êBob Stewart/Michele Rosewoman; Will Connell’s Sadhana with Vincent Chancey,
Max Johnson, Jeremy Carlstedt University of the Streets 8, 10 pm $10
êMichael Cain Trio with Lonnie Plaxico, Rudy Royston
• Dan Ori Trio with Oz Noy, Ziv Ravitz
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Tori Gee Group
• Ruth Aguilar with David Epstein, Steve LaSpina, Samuel Torres; Chad McLoughlin Trio;
Jeff King Band with Yuiche Uzeki, Bryce Sebastian, George Gray
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Daniel Bennett Group
Tomi Jazz 8 pm $10
• Elena Lazo Peruvian Quartet
• Sharon Fisher Quartet
êDavid Hazeltine Quintet with Eddie Henderson, Mike DiRubbo, George Mraz,
Billy Drummond
Smoke 8, 10 pm $30
• Samir Zarif Group; Ari Roland Group; George Colligan Group with Tom Guarna,
Boris Kozlov, Rudy Royston; Stacy Dillard Trio with Diallo House, Ismail Lawal
Smalls 4, 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
• Earl Klugh
• Patrick Cornelius Band with Ben Williams, John Chin, Nate Smith, Ron Blake,
Nick Vayenas Blue Note 11:45 pm $10
• Spike Wilner
• Marsha Heydt Quartet; Andrew Hadro Quartet
Sunday, July 24
• The Four Freshmen
êMark Murphy
Birdland 9, 11 pm $30
• Sean Moran’s Small Elephant with Reuben Radding, Chris Dingman, Mike McGinnis,
Harris Eisenstadt
Barbès 7 pm $10
• Bobby Avey Quartet with Miguel Zenon, Thomson Kneeland, Jordan Perlson
• Marion Cowings with Roman Ivanoff, Paul Newinski, Ai Murakami;
Dave Schnitter Quintet with Ugonna Okegwo, Spike Wilner, Anthony Pinciotti
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm $20
• Jarrett Cherner; Contemporaneous
• Attention Screen: Don Fiorino, Bob Reina, Chris Jones, Mark Flynn; Alex Soreff,
Kay Benyarko, Peter Siuska
ABC No Rio 7 pm $5
• Yard Byard: Jamie Baum, Adam Kolker, Jerome Harris, Ed and George Schuller
• Peter Leitch/Ugonna Okegwo Walker’s 8 pm
• Terry Waldo’s Gotham City Band; Darryl Yokley; Brandon Lewis/Renee Cruz Jam
• Brian Murray
Brooklyn Lyceum 9, 10:30 pm
• Alex Smith Organ Quartet; Hiromi Suda with Anne Drummond, Yasushi Nakamura;
Keita Ogawa
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30 pm $19.99
• Todd Neufeld with Mike LaValle, Billy Mintz
Gallery One Twenty Eight 7 pm $10
• Earl Klugh
• Spike Wilner
• Ras Moshe, Kyoko Kitamura, Andrew Drury, Anders Nilsson
• Art Baron Group
• Paul Bollenback with Joseph Lepore, McClenty Hunter, Chris McNulty
Blue Note 12:30, 2:30 pm $24.50
• Roz Corral Trio
• Iris Ornig Quartet; David Coss and Trio; Ryan Anselmi Quintet
êMingus Orchestra
Monday, July 25
The Stone 9 pm $20
• Dominick Farinacci Sextet with Dan Kaufman, Yasushi Nakamura, Lawrence Leathers,
Keita Ogawa, Guilherme Monteiro and guest Jonathan Batiste
• Joel Harrison/Anupam Shobhakar Quintet with Dan Weiss
55Bar 10 pm $10
• George Schuller’s Circle Wide with Brad Shepik, Jason Rigby; Ben Gerstein with
Jonathan Moritz, Dan Peck, Garth Stevenson, Ches Smith
êPeter Bernstein solo; Ari Hoenig Quartet; Spencer Murphy Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
• George Braith; Billy Kaye Jam Fat Cat 9 pm 12:30 am
• Kenneth Salters Sextet; Joonsam Lee Quartet
• Scott Reeves Orchestra
• Ehud Asherie
• The Magic Trio: Chris McNulty, Paul Bollenback, Ugonna Okegwo
• Lezlie Harrison
Zinc Bar 7 pm $7
• The Last Poets
• Howard Williams Jazz Orchestra; Kyoko Oyobe Trio
• Dona Carter
Tuesday, July 26
êJazz in July - True Blue, The Blue Note Records Legacy: Randy Brecker, Steve Wilson,
Eric Alexander, Dave Stryker, Bill Charlap, Renee Rosnes, Peter Washington,
Lewis Nash
êPaul Motian Septet with Chris Cheek, Bill McHenry, Steve Cardenas, Mat Maneri,
Jacob Sacks, Thomas Morgan Village Vanguard 9, 11 pm $25
• Fourplay: Bob James, Nathan East, Chuck Loeb, Harvey Mason
• Leny Andrade
• Claudia Acuña Quintet with Marc Cary, Mark Kelley, Yayo Serka, Juancho Herrera
• John Benitez Group
• Rob Duguay’s Songevity with Abraham Burton, Noah Preminger, Yvonne Simone,
Justin Kauflin, Nadav Snir-ZelnikerJazz Standard 7:30, 9:30 pm $20
• Jeff Siegal Quintet
NYC Baha’i Center 8, 9:30 pm $15
• Andrew Rathbun’s Idea of North with Nate Radley, Gary Versace, Jay Anderson,
Michael Sarin
êRuss Lossing Oracle Trio with Masa Kamaguchi, Billy Mintz; Renku: Michael Attias,
John Hébert, Satoshi Takeishi Korzo 9, 10:30 pm $5
• David Binney with Jacob Sacks, Thomas Morgan, Dan Weiss
55Bar 10 pm
• Greg Heffernan; David Virelles TrioSeeds 7:30, 9 pm $10
• Yaala Ballin/Ari Roland; Ray Gallon Trio with David Wong, Peter Van Nostrand;
Ken Fowser/Behn Gillece Jam Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
• SO Percussion; Miguel Frasconi The Stone 8, 10 pm $10
êDeborah Weisz Trio with Ratzo Harris, Eric Halvorson; Perry Robinson, Kirk Nurock,
Max Johnson
• Saul Rubin; Itai Kriss Salsa All-Stars; Greg Glassman Jam
• Matthew Silberman and Press Play with Ryan Ferreira, Greg Ruggiero, Chris Tordini,
Tommy Crane
The Local 269 11 pm
• Emilio Teubal Quartet with Moto Fukushima, Tupac Mantilla, Xavier Perez
Nublu 9 pm
• Grupo Los Santos: Paul Carlon, Peter Smith, David Ambrosio, William “Beaver” Bausch;
Brad Linde
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30 pm $19.99
• 6 Seeds: Senri Oe and guests Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Ehud Asherie
The Kitano 8, 10 pm
êJack Wilkins/Bucky Pizzarelli
Bella Luna 8 pm
• Cecilia Coleman Big Band; Alex Hoffman Quartet
• Dorota Piotrowska
Pier 45 6:30 pm
• Dona Carter
Wednesday, July 27
êJazz in July - In His Own Sweet Way, Celebrating Dave Brubeck: Dick Oatts,
Scott Wendholt, Chris Brubeck, Bill Charlap, Harvie S, Terry Clarke
• John Beasley Quintet with Antonio Hart, Rashawn Ross, James Genus,
Jeff “Tain” Watts
êOhad Talmor’s Newsreel with Shane Endsley, Jacob Sacks, Matt Pavolka, Dan Weiss
Barbès 8 pm $10
• Jason Kao Hwang’s EDGE with Taylor Ho Bynum, Ken Filiano, Andrew Drury;
Chris Forbes Quintet with Matt Lavelle, Will Connell, Francois Grillot, Bob Hubbard
êJazzmobile: Danny Mixon
Grant’s Tomb 7 pm
• Eszter Balint/Chris Cochrane; John Esposito with Jeff Marx, Jeff Siegel, Lara Steele
• Ehud Asherie Trio with David Wong, Jimmy Wormworth
The Kitano 8, 10 pm
êSIM Faculty Band Vol. I: Ralph Alessi, Matt Mitchell, Chris Lightcap, Tom Rainey
êJon Davis/Gianluca Renzi; Duane Eubanks Quartet with Abraham Burton, Marc Cary,
Dezron Douglas, Eric McPherson; Marc Devine Trio
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
• Max Johnson Trio
• Hashem Assadullahi’s Cadre with Rich Perry, Leonard Thompson, Yoshi Waki,
Mark Ferber; Pascalito’s Quartet: Pascal Sabattier, Luiz Simas, Leco Reis, Javier Diaz
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30 pm $19.99
• Rafi D’lugoff; BJ Jansen; Ned Goold Jam
• Marianne Solivan
Flute Gramercy 8 pm
• Melanie Marod Trio
Flute Bar 8 pm
• The Quiet Project: Ileana Santamaría/Chikako Iwahori
Terraza 7 9 pm
• Trio Project; Adam Levy
Caffe Vivaldi 7:15, 8:30 pm
• Chris Massey’s Nue Jazz Trio Shrine 7 pm
• Leny Andrade
• Ehud Asherie
• Ben Gillece; Big Beat 4tet
• Dona Carter
• Roseanna Vitro/Mark Soskin
Thursday, July 28
êFreddy Cole Quartet with Randy Napoleon, Elias Bailey, Curtis Boyd and guest
Harry Allen
êJazz in July - Always, Irving Berlin: Sandy Stewart, Sachal Vasandani, Grant Stewart,
Jeremy Pelt, Joe Locke, Bill Charlap, Renee Rosnes, Sean Smith, Lewis Nash
ê3 Pianos/Taylor Made - A Jazzmobile Tribute to Dr. Billy Taylor: Barry Harris, Eric Reed,
Christian Sands with Chip Jackson, Winard Harper, Cecil Bridgewater, Tia Fuller,
Craig Harris, Melba Joyce
• Ehud Asherie solo; Ralph Bowen Group with Jim Ridl, Kenny Davis, Billy Drummond;
Josh Evans Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12:30 am $20
• Pauline Oliveros/Rosi Hertlein; Monique Buzzarte
êRichard Sussman Quartet with Dick Oatts, Jay Anderson, Steve Johns
The Kitano 8, 10 pm
• Nikolaj Hess Trio with Johannes Weidenmuller, Gregory Hutchinson
êGowanus Co.: James Falzone, Josh Sinton, Owen Stewart-Robertson, Dominic Lash,
James Ilgenfritz, Jason Mears, Kyoko Kitamura, Jean Carla Rodea, Devin Gray,
Weasel Walter, Jeremiah Cymerman, Vinnie Sperrazza, Pascal Niggenkemper
• Howard Alden/Anat Cohen Duo Bar Next Door 8:30, 10:30 pm $12
• Pete Yellin; Greg Glassman/Stacy Dillard
Fat Cat 7, 10 pm
• Wayne Tucker with Roxy Coss, Chris Pattishall, Shawn Conley, Dan Pugach
• Yvonne Simone; Carl Fischer Organic Groove Ensemble; Yoko Miwa with
Greg Loughman, Scott Goulding Miles’ Café 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Moneco-Peruvian Amazonic Cumbia: Eric Kurimski, Ben Willis, Jorge Olmedo,
Yayo Serka Terraza 7 10:30 pm
• Jon Weiss Trio
• Leny Andrade
• Ehud Asherie
• Harlem Speaks: Lew Tabackin Jazz Museum in Harlem 6:30 pm
• Dave Fiuczynski Group with guest Cornelius Eady
• Champian Fulton Trio; Alan Chaubert Trio
êJosé James
Metrotech Commons 12 pm
• Anat Cohen Ensemble
• Dona Carter
Friday, July 29
êDon Byron New Gospel Quintet; Burnt Sugar
êAdam Rudolph’s Moving Pictures Octet with Joseph Bowie, Graham Haynes,
Brahim Fribgane, Kenny Wessel, Peter Apfelbaum, Jerome Harris, Matt Kilmer
êMary Halvorson Quintet with Jonathan Finlayson, Jon Irabagon, John Hébert,
Ches Smith
êJames Falzone/Okkyung Lee; James Falzone’s Ground Quartet with Nate Wooley,
Dominic Lash, Harris Eisenstadt I-Beam 9 pm $10
• Mike Clark’s Indigo Blue with Wallace Roney, Donald Harrison, Rob Dixon,
Antonio Farao, Christian McBride Iridium 8, 10 pm $30
• Benjamin Drazen Quartet with Jon Davis, Carlo DeRosa, Jochen Rueckert;
Logan Richardson Group with Greg Osby, Sam Harris, Burniss Travis, Nasheet Waits;
Spike Wilner Trio with Adam Cote, Brian Floody
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
êDanny Mixon Quartet
• Javon Jackson Quartet with Joel Holmes, Corcoran Holt, McClenty Hunter
Smoke 8, 10 pm $30
• Anat Cohen Quartet
• Jazzmobile
Marcus Garvey Park 7 pm
• Sarah Cahill; Carl Stone
• Nu Soil; Alan Palmer Jam
• Joanna Teters Experiment with Ben Carr, Ted Morcaldi, Zane West; Stephanie McB
Ensemble with Billy Test, Parker McAllister, Charles Burchell; Joey Berkley Quartet
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• Vitaly Golovnev Quartet
• María Mulata
Terraza 7 7 pm $10-15
• Tom Dempsey Trio with Ron Oswanski, Alvin Atkinson
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
Harry Allen
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
êBill McHenry and guests
• Leny Andrade
• Ehud Asherie
• James Blood Ulmer Memphis Blood Blues with Vernon Reid
World Financial Center 6 pm
• Enoch Smith Jr. Trio; Joey Morant Trio
• Dona Carter
• Cocomama
600 Third Avenue 12:30 pm
MILES’ CAFE NYC
July 12 / 7pm
CORNELIA STREET CAFE
July 19 / 6pm
‘Moment in the MOMENT’ Trio
Hendrik Meurkens, harmonica
Yoshi Waki, bass
“...few are in Deborah Latz’s league...”
— L.A. Jazz Scene
"...Latz...may be one of the finest
balladeers in some time."
— Jazz Society of Oregon
www.deborahlatz.com
Photo
©Todd Weinstein
39
Saturday, July 30
êRalph Alessi, Kris Davis, Ingrid Laubrock, Tom Rainey
êTim Berne Trio with Matt Mitchell, Dan Weiss
êWilliam Winant with Okkyung Lee, Zeena Parkins; Zeena Parkins
êJames Falzone’s Ground Quartet with Nate Wooley, Dominic Lash, Harris Eisenstadt
Café Orwell 9 pm
• Jacam Manricks Trio with Gary Versace, Matt Wilson
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Brandon Ross; Rob Reddy’s All You Can Eat with John Carlson, Charlie Burnham,
Jef Lee Johnson, Jamie Saft, Dom Richards, Pheeroan akLaff
Jalopy 9, 10:30 pm
• Michael Marcus
Fat Cat 7 pm
• Quentin Angus Quintet with Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, Youngjoo Song, Scott Colberg,
Kyle Rowland
• Caleb Curtis/Chris Pattishall Duo; Yuki Shibata Trio with Yoshiki Yamada, Ryo Noritake;
Frank Fontaine Quartet
Miles’ Café 7, 8:30, 10 pm $19.99
• La Cumbiamba Eneyé
Terraza 7 10:30 pm
• Rodney Siau Quartet
• Ralph Lalama’s Bop Juice with David Wong, Clifford Barbaro; Logan Richardson
Group with Greg Osby, Sam Harris, Burniss Travis, Nasheet Waits;
Ian Hendrickson-Smith Group Smalls 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
• Danny Mixon Quartet
• Javon Jackson Quartet with Joel Holmes, Corcoran Holt, McClenty Hunter
Smoke 8, 10 pm $30
• Anat Cohen Quartet
Harry Allen
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
• Leny Andrade
• Ehud Asherie
• Steven Bernstein’s Millenial Territory Orchestra with guests Henry Butler,
Dean Bowman, Sandra St. Victor; Hazmat Modine
World Financial Center 1 pm
• Jazzmobile
Great Hill 2 pm
• John David Simon Trio; Michika Fukumori Trio; Akiko Tsuruga Trio
The Garage 12, 6:15, 10:45 pm
Sunday, July 31
• Geri Allen and Timeline MoMA Sculpture Garden 7 pm
• Tardo Hammer Trio with Lee Hudson, Jimmy Wormworth; Tyler Mitchell Quintet with
Spike Wilner, Abraham Burton, Josh Evans, Eric McPherson
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm $20
• Michele Gentile Trio with Masa Kamaguchi, Billy Mintz
• Peter Leitch/Jed Levy
Walker’s 8 pm
• Terry Waldo’s Gotham City Band; Alexi David; Brandon Lewis/Renee Cruz Jam
• David Garland; Kenji Garland The Stone 8, 10 pm $10
• Jocelyn Medina with Chris Ward, Hadar Noiberg, Nir Felder, Chris Tarry, Ziv Ravitz
• Pet Bottle Ningen; Nick Gianni’s Evolution; On Davis’ Famous Original Djuke Music
Players
Nublu 9, 10 pm 12 am
• Simona Premazzi
• Ted Chubb
Harry Allen
êJames Falzone solo
• NJMH Afro-Cuban All Stars with Chocolate Armenteros, Johnny Rodriguez,
Edy Martinez and guest Dave Valentin
Grant’s Tomb 6:30 pm
• Jamie Reynolds Trio
• Mordy Ferber
Blue Note 12:30, 2:30 pm $24.50
• Roz Corral Trio
• Klezmer Brunch: Michael Winograd
• Evan Schwam Quartet; David Coss and Trio; Jayna Morgan Trio
R E G U L A R
E N G A G E M E N T S
MONDAYS
• Tom Abbott Big Bang Big Band Swing 46 8:30 pm
• Ron Affif Trio
Zinc Bar 9, 11pm, 12:30, 2 am
• Steve Coleman Presents The Jazz Gallery 9 pm $15
• Sedric Choukroun and The Brasilieros Chez Lola 7:30 pm
• Pete Davenport/Ed Schuller Jam Session Frank’s Cocktail Lounge 9 pm
• Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band The Carlyle 8:45 pm $75-100
• George Gee Swing Orchestra Gospel Uptown 8 pm
• Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks Sofia’s 8 pm (ALSO TUE)
• Grove Street Stompers Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
• Patience Higgins Sugar Hill Quartet Lenox Lounge 9:30 pm $10
• JFA Jazz Jam
Local 802 7 pm
• Piers Lawrence
Sprig 6:30 pm (ALSO FRI)
• Long Island City Jazz Alliance Jam Session Domaine 8 pm
• Roger Lent Trio Jam
Cleopatra’s Needle 8 pm $10
• Iris Ornig Jam Session The Kitano 8 pm
• Les Paul Trio with guests Iridium 8, 10 pm $35
• Ian Rapien’s Spectral Awakenings Jazz Groove Session Rhythm Splash 9 pm
• Stan Rubin All-Stars
Charley O’s 8:30 pm
• Smoke Big Band; John Farnsworth Quartet Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm
• Vanguard Jazz Orchestra Village Vanguard 9, 11 pm $30
TUESDAYS
• Daisuke Abe Trio
Sprig 6 pm (ALSO WED-THU))
• Ben Allison Trio
Kush 8 pm $10
• Evolution Series Jam Session Creole 9 pm
• Irving Fields
Nino’s Tuscany 7 pm (ALSO WED-SUN)
• Joel Frahm
Bar Next Door 8 pm $12
• George Gee Swing Orchestra Swing 46 8:30 pm
• Loston Harris
Café Carlyle 9:30 pm $20 (ALSO WED-SAT)
• Art Hirahara Trio
Arturo’s 8 pm
• Yuichi Hirakawa Trio
Arthur’s Tavern 7, 8:30 pm
• Sandy Jordan and Larry Luger Trio Notaro 8 pm
• Mike LeDonne Quartet; Dan Christensen Trio Smoke 7, 9, 10:30, 11:30 pm
• Iris Ornig Quartet
Crooked Knife 7 pm
• Annie Ross
The Metropolitan Room 9:30 pm $25
• Robert Rucker Trio Jam Cleopatra’s Needle 8 pm $10
• Dred Scott Trio
Rockwood Music Hall 12 am
• Slavic Soul Party Barbès 9 pm $10
WEDNESDAYS
• Melissa Aldana Trio
• Astoria Jazz Composers Workshop Waltz-Astoria 6 pm
• Bill Cantrall Trio
718 Restaurant 8:30 pm
• Sedric Choukroun and the Eccentrics Chez Oskar 7 pm
• Eve Cornelious; Sam Raderman Quartet Smoke 7, 9, 10:30, 11:30 pm
• Walter Fischbacher Trio Water Street Restaurant 8 pm
• Jeanne Gies with Howard Alden and Friends Joe G’s 6:30 pm
• Jake K. Leckie Trio
Kif Bistro 8 pm
• Les Kurz Trio
• Jonathan Kreisberg Trio Bar Next Door 8:30, 10:30 pm $12
• Guillaume Laurent Trio Bar Tabac 7 pm
• Jed Levy and Friends
Vino di Vino Wine Bar 7:30 pm (ALSO FRI)
• Nat Lucas Organ Trio Lenox Lounge 8 pm $3
• Jacob Melchior
Philip Marie 7 pm (ALSO SUN 12 PM)
• Alex Obert’s Hollow BonesVia Della Pace 10 pm
• David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Centennial Band Birdland 5 pm $10
• Stan Rubin Big Band
Swing 46 8:30 pm
• Bobby Sanábria Big Band FB Lounge 7:30, 9:30 pm $10
• Alex Terrier Trio
Antibes Bistro 7:30 pm
• Vocal Wednesdays
Zeb’s 8 pm
• Justin Wert/Corcoran Holt Benoit 7 pm
• Bill Wurtzel/Tony DecaprioAmerican Folk Art Museum Lincoln Square 2 pm
• Jordan Young Group
Bflat 8:30 pm
THURSDAYS
• Jason Campbell Trio
Perk’s 8 pm
• Sedric Choukroun
Brasserie Jullien 7:30 pm (ALSO FRI, SAT)
• Curtis Brothers
B. Smith’s 9 pm
• Aki Ishiguro Jam Session Solo Kitchen Bar 9 pm
• Jazz Vocal Workshop
University of the Streets 8:30 pm $5
• Gregory Porter; Jazz Meets HipHop Smoke 7, 9, 10:30, 11:30 pm
• Eri Yamamoto Trio
Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm (ALSO FRI-SAT)
FRIDAYS
• Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet Tutuma Social Club 8:30, 10:30 pm
• Deep Pedestrian
Sintir 8 pm
• Charles Downs’ CentipedeThe Complete Music Studio 7 pm
• Ken Fowser Quintet Smoke 12:30 am
• George Gee Swing Orchestra Swing 46 9:30 pm
• Greg Lewis Organ Trio
Night of the Cookers 10 pm
• Kengo Nakamura Trio
Club A Steakhouse 11 pm
• Open Jazz Jam Session University of the Streets 11:30 pm $5 (ALSO SAT)
• Albert Rivera Organ Trio B Smith’s 8:30 pm (ALSO SAT)
• Brandon Sanders Trio
Londel’s 8, 9, 10 pm (ALSO SAT)
• Bill Saxton and Friends Bill’s Place 9, 11 pm $15
SATURDAYS
• Jesse Elder/Greg RuggieroRothmann’s 6 pm
• Guillaume Laurent/Luke Franco Casaville 1 pm
• Johnny O’Neal Smoke 12:30 am
• Wayne Roberts Duo
City Crab 12 pm (ALSO SUN)
• Freddie Bryant Brazilian Trio Smoke 11:30 am, 1, 2:30 pm
• Skye Jazz Trio
Jack 8:30 pm
• Michelle Walker/Nick Russo Anyway Café 9 pm
• Bill Wurtzel Duo
Henry’s 12 pm
SUNDAYS
• Bill Cantrall Trio
Crescent and Vine 8 pm
• Barbara Carroll/Jay Leonhart Algonquin Oak Room 1 pm
• Marc Devine Trio
TGIFriday’s 6 pm
• Noah Haidu Jam
• Ear Regulars with Jon-Erik Kellso The Ear Inn 8 pm
• Marjorie Eliot/Rudell Drears/Sedric Choukroun Parlor Entertainment 4 pm
• Sean Fitzpatrick and Friends Ra Café 1 pm
• Nancy Goudinaki’s Trio Kellari Taverna 12 pm
• Enrico Granafei solo
Sora Lella 7 pm
• Lafayette Harris
Lenox Lounge 7 pm $10
• Stan Killian Trio
Ocean’s 8 8:30 pm
• Bob Kindred Grouo
Café Loup 12:30 pm
• LICJA Family Jazz Concert Series Breadbox Café 1 pm
• Lapis Luna Trio Bocca 7 pm
• Alexander McCabe Trio CJ Cullens Tavern 5 pm
• Junior Mance/Hide TanakaCafé Loup 6:30 pm
• Peter Mazza
Bar Next Door 8 pm $12
• Tony Middleton Trio
The Kitano 11 am
• Prime Directive; Jason Teborek Quartet Smoke 7, 9, 10:30, 11:30 pm
• Johnny O’Neal
Smalls 12:30 am $20
• Lu Reid Jam Session
Shrine 4 pm
• Rose Rusciani
Alor 11 am
• Rose Rutledge Trio
Ardesia Wine Bar 6:30 pm
• Annette St. John and Trio Smoke 11:30 am, 1, 2:30 pm
• Secret Architecture
• Gabrielle Stravelli Trio
The Village Trattoria 12:30 pm
• Cidinho Teixeira
Zinc Bar 10, 11:30 1 am
• Jazz Jam hosted by Michael Vitali Comix Lounge 8 pm
• Brian Woodruff Jam
Blackbird’s 9 pm
CLUB DIRECTORY
• 101 Park Avenue Subway: 6 to 33rd Street
• 600 Third Avenue Subway: 4, 5, 6, 7, S to Grand Central
• 5C Café 68 Avenue C (212-477-5993)
Subway: F to Second Avenue 5ccc.com
• 55Bar 55 Christopher Street (212-929-9883)
Subway: 1 to Christopher Street 55bar.com
• 718 Restaurant 35-01 Ditmars Boulevard
(718-204-5553) Subway: N, Q to Ditmars 718restaurant.com
• 92nd Street Y Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street
(212-415-5500) Subway: 6 to 96th Street 92y.org
• 92YTribeca 200 Hudson Street
(212-601-1000) Subway: 1, A, C, E to Canal Street 92y.org
• ABC No Rio 156 Rivington Street (212-254-3697)
Subway: J,M,Z to Delancey Street abcnorio.org
• Algonquin Oak Room 59 W. 44th Street between 5th and 6th
Avenues (212-840-6800) Subway: B, D, F, M, 7 to 42nd Street
• American Folk Art Museum 45 W 53rd Street (212-265-1040)
Subway: E to 53rd Street folkartmuseum.org
• Annunciation Park Amsterdam Ave. and W. 134th Street
Subway: 1 to 137th Street
• Antibes Bistro 112 Suffolk Street
(212-533-6088) Subway: J, Z to Essex Street antibesbistro.com
• Antique Garage 41 Mercer Street (212-219-1019)
Subway: N, Q, R, W to Canal Street
• Anyway Café 34 E. 2nd Street (212-533-3412)
Subway: F to Second Avenue
• Ardesia Wine Bar 510 West 52nd Street
(212-247-9191) Subway: C to 50th Street ardesia-ny.com
• Arthur’s Tavern 57 Grove Street (212-675-6879)
Subway: 1 to Christopher Street arthurstavernnyc.com
• Arturo’s 106 W. Houston Street (at Thompson Street)
(212-677-3820) Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F to W. 4th Street
• B. Smith’s 320 West 46th Street
(212-315-1100) Subway: A, C, E, to 42nd Street bsmith.com
• BAMCafé 30 Lafayette Ave at Ashland Pl, Fort Greene, Brooklyn
(718-636-4139) Subway: M, N, R, W to Pacific Street; Q, 1, 2, 4, 5
to Atlantic Avenue bam.org
• Bflat 277 Church Street (between Franklin and White Streets)
Subway: 1, 2 to Franklin Streets
• The Backroom 485 Dean Street at Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn
Subway: 1, 2 to Bergen Street (718-622-7035)
• Bar Next Door 129 MacDougal Street (212-529-5945)
Subway: A, C, E, F to W. 4th Street lalanternacaffe.com
• Barbès 376 9th Street at 6th Avenue, Brooklyn (718-965-9177)
Subway: F to 7th Avenue barbesbrooklyn.com
• Bella Luna 584 Columbus Avenue Subway: B, C to 86th Street
• Benoit 60 W. 55th Street
Subway: F to 57th Street, N, Q, R,W to 57th Street
• Bill’s Place 148 W. 133rd Street (between Lenox and 7th Avenues)
(212-281-0777) Subway: 2, 3 to 125th Street
• Birdland 315 W. 44th Street (212-581-3080)
Subway: A, C, E, to 42nd Street birdlandjazz.com
• Blackbird’s 41-19 30th Avenue (718-943-6898)
Subway: R to Steinway Street blackbirdsbar.com
• Blue Note 131 W. 3rd Street at 6th Avenue (212-475-8592)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F to W. 4th Street bluenotejazz.com
• Bocca 39 East 19th Street (212-387-1200)
Subway: 4, 5, 6, L, N, R, Q, W to Union Square
• Bowery Poetry Club 308 Bowery (212-614-0505)
Subway: 6 to Bleecker Street bowerypoetry.com
• Breadbox Café 47-11 11 Street (718-389-9700)
Subway: 7 to Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue
breadboxcafelic.com
• Brecht Forum 451 West Street (212-242-4201)
Subway: A, C, E, L, 1, 2, 3, 9 to 14th Street brechtforum.org
• Brooklyn Conservatory of Music 58 Seventh Avenue
Subway: F to Seventh Avenue, N, R to Union Street bqcm.org
• Brooklyn Lyceum 227 4th Avenue (718-857-4816)
Subway: R to Union Street brooklynlyceum.com
• Bryant Park 5th and 6th Avenues between 40th and 42nd Streets
Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 42nd Street
• Buona Sera 12th Street and University Place
Subway: 4, 5, 6, L, N, R, Q, W to Union Square
• CJ Cullens Tavern 4340 White Plains Road, Bronx
Subway: 2 to Nereid Avenue/238th Street
• Café Carlyle 35 East 76th Street (212-744-1600)
Subway: 6 to 77th Street thecarlyle.com
• Café Loup 105 W. 13th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues
(212-255-4746) Subway: F to 14th Street
• Café Orwell 247 Varet Street
(347-294-4759) Subway: L to Morgan Avenue
• Caffe Vivaldi 32 Jones Street between Bleecker and W. 4th Streets
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, Q to W. 4th Street-Washington Square
• Casaville 633 Second Avenue
(212-685-8558) Subway: 6 to 33rd Street casavillenyc.com
• Central Park Summerstage, Rumsey Playfield 72nd Street
and Fifth Avenue (212-36O-2777) Subway: B, D to 72nd Street
summerstage.org
• Chanddayan Center 4 West 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue
Subway: 7 to Fifth Avenue
• Charley O’s 1611 Broadway at 49th Street (212-246-1960)
Subway: N, R, W to 49th Street
• Chez Lola 387 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn (718-858-1484)
Subway: C to Clinton-Washington Avenues bistrolola.com
• Chez Oskar 211 Dekalb Ave, Brooklyn (718-852-6250)
Subway: C to Lafayette Avenue chezoskar.com
• Citigroup Center Plaza 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue
Subway: 6 to 51st Street
• City Winery 155 Varick Street
(212-608-0555) Subway: 1 to Houston Street citywinery.com
• Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center 107 Suffolk Street
Subway: F, J, M, Z to Delancey Street csvcenter.com
• Cleopatra’s Needle 2485 Broadway (212-769-6969)
Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 96th Street cleopatrasneedleny.com
• Club A Steakhouse 240 E. 58th Street (212-618-4190)
Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 59th Street clubasteak.com
• Comix Lounge 353 W. 14th Street Subway: L to 8th Avenue
• The Complete Music Studio 227 Saint Marks Avenue, Brooklyn
(718-857-3175) Subway: B, Q to Seventh Avenue
completemusic.com
• Cornelia Street Café 29 Cornelia Street (212-989-9319)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F to W. 4th Street
corneliastreetcafé.com
• Creole 2167 3rd Avenue at 118th Street
(212-876-8838) Subway: 6 th 116th Street creolenyc.com
• Crescent and Vine 25-01 Ditmars Boulevard at Crescent Street
(718-204-4774) Subway: N, Q to Ditmars Boulevard-Astoria
• Crooked Knife 29 East 30th St between Madison and Park Avenue
(212-696-2593) Subway: 6 to 33rd Street thecrookedknife.com
• Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center Broadway and 62nd Street
• Dizzy’s Club Broadway at 60th Street, 5th Floor (212-258-9800)
Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle jalc.org
• Doma 17 Perry Street
(212-929-4339) Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 14th Street domanyc.com
• Domaine Wine Bar 50-04 Vernon Boulevard
Subway: 7 to Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue
• Douglass Street Music Collective 295 Douglass Street
Subway: R to Union Street myspace.com/295douglass
• Downtown Music Gallery 13 Monroe Street (212-473-0043)
Subway: F to East Broadway downtownmusicgallery.com
• Drom 85 Avenue A (212-777-1157)
Subway: F to Second Avenue dromnyc.com
• The Ear Inn 326 Spring Street at Greenwich Street (212-246-5074)
Subway: C, E to Spring Street
• Fat Cat 75 Christopher Street at 7th Avenue (212-675-6056)
Subway: 1 to Christopher Street/Sheridan Square fatcatmusic.org
• Feinstein’s 540 Park Avenue (212-339-4095)
Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 59th Street feinsteinsattheregency.com
• Flute Bar 205 W. 54th St.between 7th Avenue and Broadway
(212-265-5169) Subway: B, D, E to 7th Avenue
• Flute Bar Gramercy 40 E. 20th Street
(212-529-7870) Subway: 6 to 23rd Street
• For My Sweet Restaurant 1103 Fulton Street
(718-857-1427) Subway: A, C, S to Franklin Avenue
• Fort Greene Park Myrtle Avenue at Cumberland Street
• Frank’s Cocktail Lounge 660 Fulton St. at Lafayette, Brooklyn
(718-625-9339) Subway: G to Fulton Street
• Gallery One Twenty Eight 128 Rivington Street #1 (212-674-0244)
Subway: F to Second Avenue galleryonetwentyeight.org
• The Garage 99 Seventh Avenue South (212-645-0600)
Subway: 1 to Christopher Street garagerest.com
• Goodbye Blue Monday 1087 Broadway, Brooklyn (718-453-6343)
Subway: J, M train to Myrtle Avenue goodbye-blue-monday.com
• Gospel Uptown 2110 Adam Clayton Powell Junior Boulevard
(212-280-2110) Subway: A, B, C, D to 125th Street
gospeluptown.com
• Grant’s Tomb 122nd Street and Riverside Drive
• Great Hill Subway: B, C to 103rd Street
• Henry’s 2745 Broadway (212-866-060) 1 to 103rd Street
• Hiro Ballroom 88 9th Avenue
(212-727-0212) Subway: A, C, E to 14th Street hiroballroom.com
• I-Beam 168 7th Street between Second and Third Avenues
Subway: F to 4th Avenue ibeambrooklyn.com
• Iridium 1650 Broadway at 51st Street (212-582-2121)
Subway: 1,2 to 50th Street theiridium.com
• Issue Project Room 232 Third Street (at the corner Third Avenue)
Subway: M to Union Street issueprojectroom.org
• Jack 80 University Place Subway: 4, 5, 6, N, R to 14th Street
• Jalopy 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn
(718-395-3214) Subway: F to Smith Street jalopy.biz
• Jazz 966 966 Fulton Street (718-638-6910)
Subway: C to Clinton Street illbrew.com/Jazz966.htm
• The Bar on Fifth 400 Fifth Avenue
(212-695-4005) Subway: 6 to 33rd Street jazzbaronfifth.com
• The Jazz Gallery 290 Hudson Street (212-242-1063)
Subway: C, E, to Spring Street jazzgallery.org
• Jazz Museum in Harlem 104 E.126th Street between Park and
Lexington Avenues (212-348-8300) Subway: 6 to 125th Street
jazzmuseuminharlem.org
• Jazz Standard 116 E. 27th between Park and Lexington Avenue
(212-576-2232) Subway: 6 to 28th Street jazzstandard.net
• Joe G’s 244 West 56th Street (212-765-3160)
Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle
• Joe’s Pub 425 Lafayette Street (212-539-8770)
Subway: N, R to 8th Street-NYU; 6 to Astor Place joespub.com
• Kellari Taverna 19 West 44th Street (212-221-0144)
Subway: B, D, F, M, 7 to 42nd Street-Bryant Park kellari.us
• The Kitano 66 Park Avenue at 38th Street (212-885-7000)
Subway: 4, 5, 6 to Grand Central kitano.com
• Knickerbocker Bar & Grill 33 University Place (212-228-8490)
Subway: N, R to 8th Street-NYU knickerbockerbarandgrill.com
• Korzo 667 5th Avenue, Brooklyn (718-285-9425)
Subway: R to Prospect Avenue eurotripbrooklyn.com/info.html
• Kush 191 Chrystie Street
(212-677-7328) Subway: F to Second Avenue thekushnyc.com
• Le Poisson Rouge 158 Bleecker Street (212-228-4854)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F to W. 4th Street lepoissonrouge.com
• Lenox Lounge 288 Lenox Avenue between 124th and 125th Streets
(212-427-0253) Subway: 2, 3 to 125th Street lenoxlounge.com
• The Local 269 269 East Houston Street at Suffolk Street
Subway: F to Second Avenue rucma.org
• Local 802 322 W. 48th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues
(212-245-4802) Subway: C to 50th Street jazzfoundation.org
• Londel’s 2620 Frederick Douglas Boulevard (212-234-6114)
Subway: 1 to 145th Street londelsrestaurant.com
• MoMA Sculpture Garden 11 West 53rd Street (212-708-9400)
Subway: E, V train to Fifth Avenue/53rd Street moma.org
• Madison Square Park 5th Avenue and 23rd Street
Subway: R, W to 23rd Street
• Marcus Garvey Park 120th Street between Mt. Morris Park and
Madison Avenue (212-201-PARK)
Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 to 125th Street
• Metropolitan Room 34 West 22nd Street ( 212-206-0440)
Subway: N, R to 23rd Street metropolitanroom.com
• Metrotech Commons corner of Flatbush and Myrtle Avenues
(718-488-8200) Subway: A, C, F to Jay Street/Borough Hall
• Michiko Studios 149 West 46th Street, 3rd Floor
(212-302-4011) Subway: B, D, F, M to 47-50 Streets
michikostudios.com
• Miles’ Café 212 E. 52nd Street, 3rd floor (between Second and
Third Avenues) (212-371-7657) Subway: 6 to 51st Street; E to
53rd Street MilesCafe.com
• NYC Baha’i Center 53 E. 11th Street (212-222-5159)
Subway: 4, 5, 6, N, R to 14th Street-Union Square bahainyc.org
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Night of the Cookers 767 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
(718-797-1197) Subway: C to Lafayette Avenue
Nightingale’s Lounge 213 2nd Avenue at 13th Street
Subway: L to 1st Avenue
Nino’s Tuscany 117 W. 58th Street (212-757-8630)
Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle
ninostuscany.com
North Square Lounge 103 Waverly Place at McDougal Street
(212-254-1200) Subway: A, B, C, E, F to West 4th Street
northsquarejazz.com
Norwegian Seaman’s Church 317 East 52nd Street (between First
and Second Avenues) (212-319-0370) Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 51st Street
Notaro Second Avenue between 34th & 35th Streets (212-686-3400)
Subway: 6 to 33rd Street
Nublu 62 Avenue C between 4th and 5th Streets (212-979-9925)
Subway: F to Second Avenue nublu.net
Nuyorican Poets Café 236 E. 3rd Street between Avenues B and C
(212-505-8183) Subway: F, V to Second Avenue nuyorican.org
Ocean’s 8 at Brownstone Billiards 308 Flatbush Avenue
(718-857-5555) Subway: B, Q to Seventh Avenue
Opia Restaurant 130 E. 57th Street (212-688-3939)
Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 59th Street opiarestaurant.com
Orchard Beach Stage Subway: 6 to Pelham Bay Park then BX29
Parlor Entertainment 555 Edgecombe Ave. #3F between 159th and
160th Streets (212-781-6595) Subway: C to 155th Street parlorentertainment.com
Pier 45 Subway: 1 to Chistopher Street
Riverbank State Park 679 Riverside Drive at 145th Street
Subway: A, C, 1 to 145th Street
Rhythm Splash 673 Flatbush Avenue
Subway: B, Q to Parkside Avenue
Rockwood Music Hall 196 Allen Street (212-477-4155)
Subway: F to Second Avenue rockwoodmusichall.com
Rose Theater Broadway at 60th Street, 5th floor (212-258-9800)
Subway: 1, 2, 3, 9, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle jalc.org
Rubin Museum 150 West 17th Street (212-620-5000)
Subway: A, C, E to 14th Street rmanyc.org
Saint Peter’s Church 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street
(212-935-2200) Subway: 6 to 51st Streetsaintpeters.org
Sans Souci 330 Myrtle Avenue (347-227-8135)
Subway: B, D, N, R, Q to DeKalb Avenue
Settepani 196 Lenox Avenue at 120th Street
(917-492-4806) Subway: 2, 3 to 116th Street settepani.com
Seeds 617 Vanderbilt Avenue Subway: 2, 3, 4 to Grand Army Plaza
Showman’s 375 West 125th Street at Morningside) (212-864-8941)
Shrine 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard (212-690-7807)
Subway: B, 2, 3 to 135th Street shrinenyc.com
Sintir 424 E. 9th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue
(212-477-4333) Subway: 6 to Astor Place
Smalls 183 W 10th Street at Seventh Avenue (212-252-5091)
Subway: 1,2,3,9 to 14th Street smallsjazzclub.com
Smoke 2751 Broadway between 105th and 106th Streets
(212-864-6662) Subway: 1 to 103rd Street smokejazz.com
Sofia’s 221 W. 46th Street Subway: B, D, F to 42nd Street
Solo Kitchen Bar 1502 Cortelyou Road (between E 16th and
Marlborough Road) (718-826-0951) Subway: Q to Cortelyou Road
Sora Lella 300 Spring Street
(212-366-4749) Subway: C, E to Spring Street soralellanyc.com
South Street Seaport Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, J, Z, M to Fulton Street;
A, C to Broadway-Nassau
Sprig 885 3rd Avenue Subway: E, M to 53rd Street
The Stone Avenue C and 2nd Street
Subway: F to Second Avenue thestonenyc.com
Swing 46 349 W. 46th Street (646-322-4051)
Subway: A, C, E to 42nd Street swing46.com
Sycamore 1118 Cortelyou Road (347-240-5850)
Subway: B, Q to to Cortelyou Road sycamorebrooklyn.com
Symphony Space Leonard Nimoy Thalia 2537 Broadway
(212-864-5400) Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 96th Street symphonyspace.org
Tea Lounge 837 Union Street, Brooklyn (718-789-2762)
Subway: N, R to Union Street tealoungeNY.com
Terraza 7 40-19 Gleane Street, Queens
(718-803-9602) Subway: 7 to 82 Street-Jackson Heights
terrazacafe.com
Thalia Café 2537 Broadway at 95th Street
(212-864-5400) Subway: 1, 2, 3, 9 to 96th Street
symphonyspace.org
Tomi Jazz 239 E. 53rd Street (646-497-1254)
Subway: 6 to 51st Street tomijazz.com
Tribes Gallery 285 E. 3rd Street
(212-674-8262) Subway: F, V to Second Avenue tribes.org
Tutuma Social Club 164 East 56th Street 646-300-0305
Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 59th Street TutumaSocialClub.com
University of the Streets 130 East 7th Street (212-254-9300)
Subway: 6 to Astor Place universityofthestreets.org
Via Della Pace 48 East 7th Street and Second Avenue
(212-253-5803) Subway: 6 to Astor Place
The Village Trattoria 135 West 3rd Street (212-598-0011)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F to W. 4th Street thevillagetrattoria.com
Village Vanguard 178 Seventh Avenue South at 11th Street
(212-255-4037) Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 14th Street
villagevanguard.com
Vino di Vino Wine Bar 29-21 Ditmars Boulevard, Queens
(718-721-3010) Subway: N to Ditmars Blvd-Astoria
Walker’s 16 North Moore Street (212-941-0142)
Subway: A, C, E to Canal Street
Waltz-Astoria 23-14 Ditmars Boulevard (718-95-MUSIC)
Subway: N, R to Ditmars Blvd-Astoria Waltz-Astoria.com
Water Street Restaurant 66 Water Street (718-625-9352)
Subway: F to York Street, A, C to High Street
The Waterfront Museum Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 6
Furman Street and Atlantic Avenue Subway: F, G to Bergen Street
Williamsburg Music Center 367 Bedford Avenue
(718-384-1654) Subway: L to Bedford Avenue
World Financial Center Subway: E to World Trade Center
worldfinancialcenter.com
Zeb’s 223 W. 28th Street Subway: 1 to 28th Street
Zebulon 258 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn (718-218-6934)
Subway: L to Bedford Avenue zebuloncafeconcert.com
Zinc Bar 82 West 3rd Street (212-477-8337) Subway: A, C, E, F,
Grand Street Shuttle to W. 4th Street zincbar.com
41
(VICTO CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13)
acoustically (Brötzmann explained that he didn’t
usually work so early in the day), the set was a series
of ballads, including “I Surrender Dear” and “’Round
Midnight” - not necessarily what one would expect,
showing a lyrical side that is not often associated with
the reedman. Individually and collectively, these were
two
absolutely
fascinating
and
spellbinding
experiences by the 70-year-old master.
In another compelling set, Richard Pinhas,
Merzbow and Wolf Eyes gave a beautifully detailed
and precise performance that was symphonic in scale,
electronic chattering stabs of processed sax, guitar and
vocals undulating and building to a brutal and, at
times, painful intensity, foreboding dark tension of
fluttering engine throbs, shrieking feedback and
screeching sheet metal tearing at the edge of the abyss
- a highlight of the weekend.
eRikm and FM Einheit continued the emerging
theme of macho music, with a performance quite
unlike any seen at Victo, with the former on turntables
and the latter, percussionist for Einsturzende
Neubauten, on a variety of percussion instruments that
included a large coil spring, a Makita drill, stones and
bricks on a metal table. The pair produced primitive
factory sounds and heavily distorted fast grooves with
pounding crescendos and sudden stops in a set that
felt like an analog version of the Merzbow performance
but in set pieces rather than symphonic movements.
There was a performative aspect, especially from the
squat, powerful Einheit, with his demolition worker
air, a shock of white hair hanging over his forehead,
dust flying as he smashed bricks in a 40-minute set that
was cogent and to the point.
Zeena Parkins’ set with her new group, The
Adorables, the early Saturday show, was a departure
from Friday night’s heaviness. This was not exactly a
premiere, but the trio played a set of compositions for
the first time, so in a way, it was. The music was
sometimes delicate, sometimes fast and funky, but
always nuanced with an eye for detail and very, very
beautiful, probably the biggest surprise of a festival
that was rich in fascinating performances but light on
surprises.
Any performance by Anthony Braxton is highly
anticipated and the North American premiere of “Echo
Echo Mirror House” was not an exception, though the
results of seven musicians (Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum,
Mary Halvorson, Jessica Pavone, Jay Rozen, Aaron
Siegel, Carl Testa) playing a combination of regular
instruments and iPods loaded with Braxton solos was
extremely dense, requiring great concentration, almost
too much to absorb at once. This performance will
most likely be released on the Victo label and should
benefit from repeated close listening.
Other performances of note were those by
Montreal’s Ratchet Orchestra, Jaap Blonk, Nels Cline
and Norton Wisdom and 7K Oaks, whose set might
have been the best of the festival had they stopped 20
minutes earlier than they finally did.
It did feel like the old spirit of Victo was back and
there were many smiles and few complaints on the
weekend, both from audience members and the festival
organization. v
and-all drumming.
Pianist Matthew Shipp invited saxophonist Evan
Parker, another elder statesman of the European free
scene, to join him in a sparkling extemporized duet,
which included a burst of the Englishman’s magical
self-devouring soprano saxophone and a brief quote
from Monk’s “Shuffle Boil”, amid the pianist’s
thunderous chording, insistent motifs and glinting
flurries pawed from the extremes of the keyboard.
Under the moniker All Star Mystery Collective, a
constellation of Vision Fest mainstays delivered in
style with a freewheeling set studded with bravura
solos from Rob Brown, Roy Campbell and CooperMoore among others, raucous ensembles and rugged
group empathy, accompanied by the dancing and
occasional vocals of organizer Patricia Parker. Their
final number encapsulated much of what is best about
the Vision Festival, moving seamlessly from a joyful
celebratory bounce into atonality and back again,
recalling New Orleans polyphony.
Collective Dawn of Midi was an ear-opener for
many, compelling in their movement from almost
subliminal stirrings to a timeless mesmerizing groove
evoking sunrise over the souk, with pianist Amino
Belyamani’s minimally evolving patterns and piano
preparations pitched against the throbbing bass of
Aakaash Israni and the unpredictable outbursts of
percussionist Qasim Naqvi. Another pianist, Connie
Crothers, led from the front, taking her quartet from
cool swing to fiery communion, with saxophonist
Richard Tabnik’s physical contortions mirroring his
slippery lines and bassist Ken Filiano always eloquent
and inventive.
Honorable mentions go to the muscular Blood Trio
(Sabir Mateen, Michael Bisio and Whit Dickey) who
opened proceedings; saxophonists John Tchicai’s
Ascension Unending (featuring one masterful solo
from the leader), Tony Malaby’s unrelenting Tamarindo
and Kidd Jordan’s vibrant quintet; trumpeters Stephen
Haynes’ sonic explorations with Parrhesia, Tomasz
Stanko’s quartet of Sylvie Courvoisier, Mark Feldman
and Mark Helias adding welcome grit to the oyster,
Ted Daniel’s irrepressible updating of King Oliver and
Peter Evans’ Pulverize the Sound with drummer Mike
Pride and electric bassist Tim Dahl doing exactly that,
dividing the audience in the process; drummer Tomas
Fujiwara’s incendiary The Hook Up and trombonist
Reut Regev’s rollicking R*time spotlighting guest
pianist Burton Greene.
Recently passed violinist Billy Bang received
several dedications during the Festival but none was
more heartfelt or moving than that at the absolute end.
Tributes can have the tendency to be maudlin or
inconsequential, but under the direction of William
Parker the massed might of a 20-piece string section,
the violinist’s former band and additional horns gave a
soulful extended rendition of Bang’s “Mystery of the
Mekong”, followed by a spirited version of “Saigon
Funk”, which interpolated a wild orgiastic blow-out
appropriately named “Ascension for Billy Bang”,
concluding with Parker strutting his stuff against a
juddering slab of funk for a rousing and emotional
finale that made this writer long for next year ’s offering
already. v
For more information, visit visionfestival.org
For more information, visit victo.qc.ca
(MOERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13)
(VISION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13)
running to several pages that nonetheless captured the
spontaneity of improvisation and incorporated
fantastic contrasts between the combustive and the
ordered. Saxophonist Laubrock’s timbral investigations
were particularly wonderful, with a skronk explosion
near the end on soprano atop Sorey’s kitchen-sink-
underlined with feedback loops, Gibbs reinforced the
rhythm while utilizing buzzing reverb during solos.
Instructively, much of Reid’s evocative lead guitar
work was based on slide guitar styling as traditional as
T-Bone Walker ’s. The three were as rooted in the blues
as Coleman.
If Encryption literally amplified Coleman’s
innovations, then tenor saxophonist Jon Irabagon is an
accelerated variant of Coleman’s imaginative
improvising. Seemingly never stopping for breath,
Irabagon played 45 minutes of freebop based on Harry
Ruby-Bert Kalmar ’s “Three Little Words”, studded
with split-second quotes from pop and jazz standards.
Encompassing techniques ranging from foghorn
growls and serene trills, he never lost his way,
frequently cycling back to the head and at points
seemed to be playing two disparate reed parts by
himself. Ample space was left as well for bassist Peter
Brendler ’s string-slaps or below-the-bridge strums
plus drummer Barry Altschul’s pinpointed bass drum
bashes that fuelled a steady backbeat.
Anyone missing a piano sound could turn to a
hushed and methodical solo set from Abdullah
Ibrahim. Playing mostly medium tempos, Ibrahim
applied variants of touch and texture to his playing, at
junctures appending a slow, rocking beat to methodical
chording. His pastoral output was only traded for
ringing notes during an encore when torrential rain hit
the tent.
Younger bands which impressed included The
Ambush Party (TAP) from the Netherlands and
Germany’s Tørn. Following Germany’s bombastic The
Dorf, a 25-piece ensemble that combined vamping rock
rhythms with sustained, climactic lines from a
multiplicity of soloists, Tørn carved out a program of
spiky chamber-improv. Although clarinetist Joris
Rühl’s pitch was strident and staccato, his squeezed
timbres harmonized perfectly with pianist Philip
Zoubek’s tremolo runs, key clanking and stringstopping. Bassist Achim Tang’s matchless technique
supplied the melding ostinato, as drummer Joe
Hertenstein’s rim shots and hi-hat slaps broke up the
rhythm while keeping it free-flowing.
TAP’s pianist Oscar Jan Hoogland didn’t stint on
internal string strumming and mallet-pummeling
either, but these New Music echoes were only part of
the band’s game plan. Improvising collectively, TAP
galloped among references to trance, Dixieland,
klezmer, free jazz, tango and even operatic music, with
vocalized gurgles from cellist Harald Austbø, whose
theatrical sawing on cello suggested a familiarity with
the Three Stooges as much as so-called classical
chamber music. Meanwhile Natalio Sued exposed flatline clarinet variants and slurping tenor saxophone
runs and drummer Marcos Baggiani’s steady beats in
tandem with Austbø’s stentorian strokes focused the
material.
Other performances included influences as
disparate as naïve pop, R&B, grindcore, hiphop,
electronica and ethnic music. The most appealing
maintained a connection to jazz like trumpeter Igmar
Thomas’ The Cypher with powerful soloing from
saxophonist Marcus Strickland and keyboardist David
Bryant or existed in their own sphere like the Afrobeatmeets-soul spectacle of Nigerian singer/saxophonist
Seun Kuti, incorporating multiple percussionists and
horns plus lightly-clad backup singer/dancers.
Michiyo Yagi’s Double Trio from Japan, which
matched her shrill vocals and vigorous plucks on
17-string and 21-string kotos with contributions from
drummers Tamaya Honda and Nori Tanaka plus
bassists Todd Nicholson and Takashi Sugawa, created
an East-West fusion. Her enormous instruments
reproduced timbres that resembled 12-string guitar
strums one minute and electric guitar licks the next,
contrapuntally interfaced with Nicholson’s supple,
melodic plucks and Sugawa’s abrasive friction or
thickening the drumbeats. The results were abrasive,
discordant, melodic, harmonic and wholly original.
Unique performances such as Yagi’s, plus the
exposure given to younger bands, as well as
celebrations of masters such as Coleman, demonstrate
how Moers has managed to thrive for four decades. v
For more information, visit moers-festival.de
IN MEMORIAM
By Andrey Henkin
BILL BARDIN - The trombonist was the last surviving member of Lu Watters’ Yerba Buena
Jazz Band, a notable Dixieland revival band in the ‘30s-40s. A mainstay in the traditional San
Francisco jazz scene through the ‘50s, Bardin died May 21st at 86.
RAY BRYANT - Uncle to the famed Eubanks jazz clan, the pianist was one of jazz’ most
accomplished players since the mid ‘50s, working with Miles Davis, Tito Puente, Arts Blakey
and Taylor, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins and many others. He also was a regular leader,
releasing dozens of albums in mostly trio and solo formats. Bryant, whose older brother
Tommy was also a respected jazz musician, died Jun. 2nd at 79.
EDDIE MORDUE - Music lovers of many genres may have heard the work of the British tenor
saxophonist. He came out of big bands after World War II and played behind American singers
like Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole before finding extensive work in rock and on soundtracks
to the Pink Panther and James Bond films. Mordue died Jan. 26th at 83.
MICHAEL RIDLEY - During the ‘70s, Ridley’s career as a trumpeter found him traversing the
soul and Motown scenes with James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder at
the same time he was working with jazz greats like Cal Massey, Frank Foster, Jimmy McGriff,
Archie Shepp and Clifford Thornton. Ridley died May 8th at 72.
ALAN RUBIN - Rubin’s highest-profile gig was as part of the Saturday Night Live Band,
leading to a spot in the Blues Brothers Band in the film of the same name. But the trumpeter
also worked with Ellington, Randy Weston and several CTI album big bands. Rubin died Jun.
8th at 68.
GIL SCOTT-HERON - His spoken word and jazz poetry helped inspire modern hiphop. He
used jazz musicians on albums like Small Talk at 125th and Lenox and Pieces of a Man. His later
career was derailed by drug problems but Scott-Heron did release an album recalling his
previous successes, I’m New Here (XL Recordings), in 2010. Scott-Heron died May 27th at 62.
BIRTHDAYS
July 1
†Earle Warren 1914-95
†Rashied Ali 1935-2009
Ndugu (Chancler) b.1952
Erik Friedlander b.1960
July 2
†Jack Hylton 1892-1965
Richard Wyands b.1928
Ahmad Jamal b.1930
†William Fielder 1938-2009
Mike Abene b.1942
Gary Dial b.1954
July 3
†Jerry Gray 1915-76
†Johnny Coles 1926-96
Ronnell Bright b.1930
†Ron Collier 1930-2003
Pete Fountain b.1930
Rhoda Scott b.1938
Dr. Lonnie Smith b.1942
John Klemmer b.1946
July 4
Aaron Sachs b.1923
Conrad Bauer b.1943
Butch Miles b.1944
Fred Wesley b.1943
July 5
†Ray Biondi 1905-81
†Bruce Turner 1922-93
Billy Jenkins b.1956
Sha b.1983
July 6
†Parke Frankenfield 1929-2005
†Betty Smith 1929-2011
Chris White b.1936
Klaus Kugel b.1959
Torben Waldorff b.1963
July 7
†Tiny Grimes 1916-89
†Frank Rehak 1926-87
Doc Severinsen b.1927
†Hank Mobley 1930-86
†Joe Zawinul 1932-2007
Sue Evans b.1951
Michael Henderson b.1951
JA Granelli b.1966
Orlando Le Fleming b.1976
July 8
†J Russel Robinson 1892-1963
†Bill Challis 1904-94
†Louis Jordan 1908-75
†Johnny Mince 1912-97
†Billy Eckstine 1914-93
†Ken Hanna 1921-82
Roy Babbington b.1940
Sakari Kukko b.1953
Russ Johnson b.1965
Kendrick Scott b.1980
Tyshawn Sorey b.1980
July 9
†Joe Darensbourg 1906-85
†June Richmond 1915-62
†Duke Burrell 1920-93
†Alex Welsh 1929-82
†Frank Wright 1935-90
July 10
†Noble Sissle 1889-1975
†Ivie Anderson 1905-49
†Cootie Williams 1910-85
†Milt Buckner 1915-77
†Dick Cary 1916-94
†Major Holley 1924-90
Buddy Clark b.1929
†Arnie Lawrence 1938-2005
†Lee Morgan 1938-72
Brian Priestley b.1946
July 11
†Clyde Bernhardt 1905-86
Henry Lowther b.1941
Tomasz Stanko b.1942
Travis Sullivan b.1971
Will Vinson b.1977
July 12
†Will Bradley 1912-89
†Sam “The Man” Taylor
1916-90
†Rusty Dedrick 1918-2009
†Paul Gonsalves 1920-74
†Conte Condoli 1927-2001
†Big John Patton 1935-2002
†Jean-Francois Jenny-Clark 1944-98
Ken Thompson b.1976
Ron Caswell b.1977
July 17
†George Barnes 1921-77
†Mary Osborne 1921-92
†Ray Copeland 1926-84
†Vince Guaraldi 1928-76
†Joe Morello 1928-2011
Ben Riley b.1933
†Nick Brignola 1936-2002
Chico Freeman b.1949
July 22
†Paul Moer 1916-2010
†Lou McGarity 1917-71
†Al Haig 1924-82
†Bill Perkins 1924-2003
†Keter Betts 1928-2005
†Junior Cook 1934-92
Johannes Bauer b.1954
Al DiMeola b.1954
July 18
†Ray McKinley 1910-95
†Joe Comfort 1917-88
Don Bagley b.1927
†Carl Fontana 1928-2003
†Buschi Niebergall 1938-~80s
†Dudu Pukwana 1938-90
William Hooker b.1946
Theo Croker b.1985
July 23
†Emmett Berry 1915-93
†Johnny Hartman 1923-83
†Claude Luter 1923-2006
Bill Lee b.1928
†Richie Kamuca 1930-77
†Steve Lacy 1934-2004
Daoud-David Williams b.1943
Khan Jamal b.1946
Loren Schoenberg b.1958
Achille Succi b.1971
July 13
†George Lewis 1900-68
Bengt-Arne Wallin b.1926
†Leroy Vinnegar 1928-99
†Albert Ayler 1936-70
†Earl Grubbs 1942-89
George Lewis b.1952
July 19
†Buster Bailey 1902-67
†Cliff Jackson 1902-70
†Charlie Teagarden 1913-84
Bobby Bradford b.1934
†Carmell Jones 1936-96
Didier Levallet b.1944
July 14
†Billy Kyle 1914-66
†Alan Dawson 1929-96
July 20
†Bill Dillard 1911-95
†Joachim Ernst Berendt
1922-2000
†Ernie Wilkins 1922-99
Peter Ind b.1928
†Charles Tyler 1941-82
Samuel Blaser b.1981
July 15
†Philly Joe Jones 1923-85
†Joe Harriott 1928-73
Henry Warner b.1940
Rodrigo Amado b.1964
July 16
†Teddy Buckner 1909-94
†Cal Tjader 1925-82
Bobby Previte b.1957
July 24
†Joe Thomas 1909-84
†Billy Taylor 1921-2010
Ronnie Lang b.1927
Finn Savery b.1933
†Rudy Collins 1934-88
Mike Mainieri b.1938
Charles McPherson b.1939
Jon Faddis b.1953
Barry Romberg b.1959
James Zollar b.1959
July 25
†Johnny Wiggs 1899-1977
†Johnny Hodges 1907-70
Jef Gilson b.1926
†Don Ellis 1934-78
Günter Lenz b.1938
Brian Blade b.1970
Mike DiRubbo b.1970
July 21
Helen Merrill b.1930
†Sonny Clark 1931-63
Plas Johnson b.1931
Scott Wendholt b.1965
July 26
†Gus Aiken 1902-1973
†Erskine Hawkins 1914-93
†Louie Bellson 1924-2009
Charli Persip b.1929
JoAnne Brackeen b.1938
Natsuki Tamura b.1951
July 27
†Charlie Queener 1923-97
Charlie Shoemake b.1937
Carl Grubbs b.1944
Joel Harrison b.1957
Jean Toussaint b.1960
July 28
†Corky Corcoran 1924-79
Jim Galloway b.1936
Nnenna Freelon b. 1954
Delfeayo Marsalis b.1965
July 29
†Don Redman 1900-64
†Charlie Christian 1916-42
†Joe Beck 1945-2008
July 30
†Hilton Jefferson 1903-68
†Roy Porter 1923-98
†Frank Smith 1927-74
†Vernell Fournier 1928-2000
James Spaulding b.1937
Hal Smith b.1953
Kevin Mahogany b.1958
July 31
†Hank Jones 1918-2010
†Ahmet Ertegun 1923-2006
†Bjarne Nerem 1923-91
Kenny Burrell b.1931
Mike Wolff b.1952
Stanley Jordan b.1959
KHAN JAMAL
July 23rd, 1946
Though the vibraphone has
been a solid participant in
jazz for decades, the avant
garde world has had few
practitioners
on
the
instrument. Florida native
but longtime Pennsylvania
resident Khan Jamal (who
also plays marimba) started
on vibes during the height of
the then-nascent New Thing.
He played in the bands of
saxist Byard Lancaster and
later
drummer
Sunny
Murray. Appearances during
the ‘80s and ‘90s came in the
groups of Billy Bang and
Jemeel Moondoc, as well as
his first albums as a leader on
SteepleChase. Since then
Jamal continues to work
steadily with era brethren
and returned to SteepleChase
in 2008 with Impressions of
Coltrane.
-AH
ON THIS DAY
by Andrey Henkin
The Soft Swing
Stan Getz (Verve)
July 12th, 1957
Saxophonist
Stan Getz, owner of
perhaps the most perfect sound in
jazz history, was also stylistically
inclusive, the Picasso of jazz. By the
time of this album, recorded six
months after Getz’ 30th birthday, he
was already an established leader and
firmly in his breezy period, soon to
switch to his bossa era. This is a
straight quartet album, Getz and a
rhythm section of Mose Allison
(piano), Addison Farmer (bass) and
Jerry Segal (drums) playing a short
program of obscure tunes with the
exception of “All the Things You Are”.
Live at the North Sea Jazz Festival
Freddie Hubbard (Pablo)
July 12th, 1980
Spiritsville
Julian Priester (Jazzland)
July 12th, 1960
Meditations
Mal Waldron (Victor)
July 12th, 1972
Trombonist Julian Priester is probably
best known for his tenure in Herbie
Hancock’s Mwandishi band. But
some listeners may also know him for
work with Sun Ra and Max Roach in
the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. In 1960 he
debuted as a leader and seven months
later waxed this followup, his last
recording under his name until 1974.
This session is somewhat of an allstar
date, with Walter Benton (tenor),
Charles Davis (bari), McCoy Tyner
(piano), Sam Jones (bass) and Art
Taylor (drums) playing a mix of
originals and standards.
By the mid ‘60s, pianist Mal Waldron,
veteran of the bands of Billie Holiday,
Charles Mingus and Jackie McLean,
had shifted his base to Europe,
recording all over that continent. The
‘70s saw him expanding out to Japan
as well, doing a number of sessions
with local players (and one in duo
with Gary Peacock). This album is a
solo disc taken from a concert at The
Dug in Tokyo. Apart from George
Gershwin’s “Summertime”, the rest
of the program is originals, including
the intriguing “The Stone Garden Of
Ryoanji”.
The
North Sea Jazz Festival in the
Netherlands is one of Europe’s
premier festivals, with a rich history
of presenting American stars. There
were few bigger names at the point of
this recording than trumpeter Freddie
Hubbard, still strong after over two
decades as a sideman and leader. This
date features Hubbard fronting a
quintet of fellow Jazz Messenger alum
Dave Schnitter (tenor, flute), Billy
Childs (keyboards), Larry Klein (bass)
and Sinclair Lott (drums), playing
Hubbard hits like “Red Clay” and
Coltrane’s “Impressions”.
Firestorm
Diedre Murray/Fred Hopkins (Victo)
July 12th, 1992
Cellist
Diedre Murray and bassist
Fred Hopkins were part of the same
generation of improvisers and first
worked together in the ‘80s group of
Henry Threadgill. This album is a sort
of followup to 1990’s Prophecy album
minus guitar and drums, leaving
them as a duo for a concert recording
at the FIMAV festival in Canada. The
eight pieces for the chamber-like
pairing of low string instruments are
split between them, Murray penning
six and Hopkins two, an eclecticism
and verve present in the spirit of their
former employer.
NEW YORK’S ONLY HOMEGROWN JAZZ GAZETTE!
• EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ON JAZZ AND IMPROVISED MUSIC IN NEW YORK CITY
• COMPETITIVE & EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING: [email protected]
• SUBSCRIPTIONS AND GENERAL INFO: [email protected]
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WWW.NYCJAZZRECORD.COM
43

July 2011 issue - The New York City Jazz Record

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